COIMBATORE: Landowners whose properties are being acquired for the road widening project between Sitra and Kurumbapalayam have expressed dissatisfaction with the compensation fixed by the district administration.
They alleged that compensation for agricultural land has been set at a significantly lower rate than that for nearby residential land and have urged the revenue department which has appointed a special tahsildar to disclose the valuation methodology, as the issue has remained unresolved since 2020.
B Praburaj, one of the affected agricultural landowners, said the compensation awarded for agricultural land has been fixed at around Rs 153 per square foot, which is nearly one-ninth of the approximately Rs 1,001 per square foot awarded for nearby residential land located within the same survey field (SF) number.
He alleged that the compensation determination is contrary to the statutory procedure prescribed under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
According to him, around 70 affected landowners of which 30 are owning agricultural lands are planning to submit representations to cllector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar and Kavundampalayam MLA Kanimozhi Santhosh, claiming that officials have not adequately addressed their concerns.
Praburaj has also submitted a petition to the Chief Minister's Cell, seeking directions to the collector and the special tahsildar handling the land acquisition process to furnish copies of the valuation statements, comparable sale deeds, calculation sheets, market value determination proceedings, and all other records relied upon in fixing the compensation.
"In the case of linear acquisitions such as road widening projects, the authorities are required to examine eligible sale transactions within the prescribed 1,600-metre search area for determining market value. The guideline value can be relied upon only when sufficient comparable sale transactions are not available.
Despite the availability of eligible sale transactions within the prescribed search area, including lands situated only a few hundred metres away in the same acquisition corridor, the authorities have failed to consider such transactions and have instead mechanically adopted the agricultural guideline value. This has resulted in arbitrary valuation, severe financial loss to agricultural landowners, and denial of the fair compensation guaranteed under the Act," Praburaj alleged.
