THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over last two months, the land owners residing along Pallichal-Balaramapuram stretch have been awaiting the government’s call on the compensation promised for their land, which has been acquired for the development of the second phase of Karamana-Kaliyikkavila road. The distribution of compensation came to a halt towards the end of October allegedly due to financial crunch.
In October, Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan had promised to speed up the dispersal of the compensation while replying to a query in the Legislative Assembly. However, nothing has happened since then and the situation has gone from bad to worse with the officials associated with the land acquisition process going on long leave.
‘Govt is misleading residents’
Shelly Raveendran, a resident said that the government is ‘misleading’ people by saying that dispensation has not been delayed. “We have been hearing such false promises for quite some time and are yet to see anything positive happen,” he added.
“We have no idea what the government is doing. Earlier, when we approached the PWD, the officials there said that the issue is to be sorted out by the Revenue Department. When we approach the Revenue Department, they tell us that the decision has to be taken by the District Collector.
However, we have now learnt that the delay is due to financial crunch. Our land lies unused from the day the district administration issued a notice informing us that our land has been acquired. But we are disappointed that the government is doing nothing to solve the impasse,” Shelly said.
The Finance Minister had allocated Rs 200 crore for the development of the stretch. Of the Rs 266 crore set aside as funds for land acquisition, only Rs 100 crore has been dispensed. Karamana-Kaliyikkavila road development action council has asked the government to take immediate action to allay the concerns of the landowners and the residents here.
Dispensation may begin in January
Meanwhile, Sam L Sone, Deputy Collector (Land Acquisition), admitted that the delay is due to the extended leave taken by the officials of the Revenue Department.
“Of course, there had been some procedural delays. For above Rs 20 crore, we need to get the approval of the Land Revenue Commissioner. Moreover, the top officials at the Revenue Department are reportedly on leave. This dragged the entire process for quite some period. However, the issue may get resolved once these officials rejoin work. If things go well, the distribution of the compensation will restart in the second week of January,” Sone said. He also denied existence of any fund crunch.
87 persons to be rehabilitated
The district administration has also begun the process to rehabilitate around 87 persons who had been renting out residential and commercial buildings along this stretch. The compensation will be deposited in their bank accounts. The process of dispensation has been named ‘Bill Information Management System’. Under this system, owners will have to produce their pan cards and other account details. Those who do not have any accounts will have to open one. Apart from this, other procedures like annexing the property through possession notice will also be used.
Project began in 2011
The foundation stone for Karamana-Kaliyikkavila project was laid in 2011 by the then Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan. The proposal was to widen the stretch from Karamana to Vazhimukku, which is around 12km, in the first phase. The first phase got finished and was opened to public till Pravachambalam. However, the second phase, till Vazhimukku, is dragging on. The total distance of the stretch from Karamana to Kaliyikkavila is 30km.