Petlawad (Madhya Pradesh): Hundreds of farmers and tribal from 12 villages who lost ancestral land in the Mahi Project's backwaters are running from pillar to post seeking their rightful compensation.
First, they were forced to relocate after losing their land, and now they have been forced to visit SDM Court due to anomalies in the government's rehabilitation grants and compensation policy.
On the basis of age-related certification, a total of 140 affected people were to be given a rehabilitation grant of Rs 18,700 each, but some people got the amount, while a majority of the remaining affected people who did not get the compensation visited the executive engineer of Mahi Project on September 12, last year and demanded compensation.
Mukesh Maida, a local resident, and other project-affected villagers accused the Mahi project officials of arbitrariness and filed a petition seeking justice and a rehabilitation grant at the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
On December 16, the High Court directed the competent authorities, including the principal secretary revenue, the Jhabua collector, the Petlawad sub-divisional officer (Revenue), and the executive officer of the Mahi Project, to dispose of the petitioner's rehabilitation grant within two months.
'Compensation paid in accordance with old award'
Meanwhile, villagers claim that compensation for irrigated and non-irrigated agricultural land was given in accordance with the old award. They claimed that they received Rs 2.59 lakh for irrigated land and Rs 1.29 lakh for non-irrigated land, whereas the new award states that they should have received Rs 8 lakh for irrigated agricultural land and Rs 4 lakh for non-irrigated land. The affected have requested that the government pay them the difference amount.
Only half compensation awarded
Many farmers were paid only half the compensation due to them for use of their fields to lay the pipelines for irrigation by showing the agricultural land as unirrigated land. Sukhram Mavi of Dholikhali is one such farmer. Furthermore, farmers who grew timber and fruit trees were not compensated for their harvest.
No compensation for many properties
Despite the fact that the houses adjacent to the Gulri Pada and Bheru Pada dam sites of the submergence area were surveyed, no compensation was paid. Many of these victims are forced to live in huts without a lease or documents, with the fear of becoming homeless at any time.
