THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Unrest is brewing among the families affected by the Outer Ring Road project - a key infrastructure development project linking Navaikulam and Vizhinjam - owing to inordinate delay in distributing compensation.
On Monday, the members of the affected families staged a protest at the collectorate demanding disbursal of compensation before January 31, 2025 and around 25 people have threatened to die by suicide if their demands are not met. The families have been demanding replacement value for their properties. At present the compensation is being calculated based on the depreciation value of land.
Almost two years have passed by since the properties of around 2,500 families were acquired for the ORR project. However, they are yet to get the promised compensation. The ambitious project implemented as part of Capital Region Development Programme II (CRDP), is crucial for the upcoming Vizhinjam port project and will facilitate smoother port-bound transportation in the future.
“We have been cheated by both the governments at the state and the Centre and even after so many years, people are in the dark about the compensation they are going to receive for the properties they surrendered for the project. They should cancel the depreciated calculation for our properties and give us the compensation by January end,” said chairman Chandramohanan Nair, Outer Ring Road Vizhinjam- Navayikulam Janakeeya Samiti.
The samiti has given several memorandums to the ministers. The families allege that both governments are not listening to their pleas. “We have decided to escalate our protest and we have told the district collector clearly that people will die by suicide at the collectorate if they don’t get the compensation immediately,” said Chandramohanan Nair.
According to the National Highways Authority of India, the funds for land acquisition are already made available. The families allege that the delays are happening due to lack of coordination and mismanagement of different departments.