Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Sep. 21 (EMN): Land Owners’ Coordination Committee (LOCC) has urged the competent authority to immediately initiate steps for acquisition of land required for construction of the road from Peren-Dimapur section on National Highway-129A and pay fair compensation to the affected land owners, while it affirmed that there would be no road without compensation.
In a letter addressed to the deputy commissioner of Dimapur, the committee convenor Thepfülhoutuo Shüya urged a decree for perpetual injunction restraining the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), their men, servants and agents from interfering with the landowners’ right to and/ or enjoyment of their land until acquisition, compensation, rehabilitation and re-settlement issues are settled.
The committee has also prayed to pass an ad-interim injunction order, immediately restraining the NHIDCL, their men, servants and agents from carrying out any further developmental activities on the aforesaid land till the disposal of their representation.
It mentioned that majority of the landowners, whose land falling within Dimapur district have been affected by the ongoing construction of two-laning with hard shoulder of Peren-Dimapur section on NH-129A by NHIDCL.
The committee also alleged that NHIDCL has started taking their land forcibly without initiating any move to acquire, resolve or settle the compensation/ rehabilitation. It has also accused NHIDCL of blatantly misusing its power and violating the statutory rights of the affected landowners by illegally executing the work without consulting them.
“It is clear that acquisition of land for public purposes is undertaken under the power of eminent domain of the government against the wishes of the owners of the land which gets acquired. When such a power is exercised, it is coupled with a bounden reciprocal duty and obligation on the part of the government body to ensure that the owners whose land gets acquired are paid compensation,” the letter stated.
It stated that the affected landowners had good and justifiable grounds for obtaining the reliefs. It went on to add that NHIDCL had no legal authority to claim or develop the land without following the due process of law.
The committee reminded that it had filed a suit bearing No. CS No. 18/2021 before the Court of the Civil Judge, Sr. Division, Dimapur on the same subject. However, it stated that said case was withdrawn on account of some technical issues with the liberty to file afresh vide order dated September 14, 2021.
It may be mentioned that the committee had also submitted a representation to Nitin Gadkari, Union minister of MORTH, on July 6, 2021, expressing their objection for forceful execution of works on NH-129A, Package-5, without paying land compensation to the landowners.
