Farmers seeking compensation for land acquired by the Delhi government threatened to intensify their agitation; say land price is over 15 times what they were offered in 2005.
NEW DELHI: Farmers on a sit-in here for the past six months seeking enhanced compensation for land acquired by the Delhi government on Saturday threatened to intensify their agitation. The current market price of the land is over 15 times what they were offered in 2005, they say.
Farmers from several villages, including Kanjhawala, Karala, Sultanpur Dabas, Put Khurd, Tikri Khurd and Tikri Kalan in northwest Delhi have been staging the sit-in outside the local deputy commissioner's office.
They said that the Congress government in Delhi, besides mentioning the issue in the assembly, had done little to address their woes.
"We have been on a peaceful dharna for the last six months, but the government has not done anything. Nearly 60,000 people in this region have been affected by the government's decision to give less compensation in comparison to the market price," said Balraj Dabbas, secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Delhi.
BKU is spearheading the farmers' agitation with Jan Sangharsh Vahini and National Alliance of People's Movements, Delhi.
"We have come to know through the media that there is a government meeting Sep 18 on this issue. We will wait till then and after that if our demands are not addressed, our agitation would be intensified," Dabbas said.
The Delhi government, through a notification, acquired 1,450 acres of agricultural land in north Delhi Aug 25, 2005.
The government revised the compensation rates from Rs.1.57 million to Rs.1.75 million per acre within four days of the notification.
"The market price of the land currently is nearly Rs.3 crore (Rs.30 million) per acre. The government offer is very low and is unacceptable to us. Our demands are clear - we want the compensation at the current market price," said BKU's general secretary Raj Singh.
The farmers' patience seems to be wearing thin.
"We cannot keep on waiting as the Delhi assembly elections are approaching and soon the model code of conduct will be enforced, tying the hands of the government. We want a solution soon," said Raj Singh.
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