After Court Orders Higher Compensation, Haryana Government Calls-Off Housing Project Citing Non-Viability 

Terming a housing project by Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) as non-viable, Haryana’s BJP government has decided to return 300 acres of land which the then Congress government in 2011 had acquired from the farmers of Sirsa, to develop two sectors, Indian Express has reported.

According to the paper, the government felt that due to the enhancement in the compensation amount by the court to the farmers, the project was not viable. However, formal notification in this regard has not been issued yet.

“The Punjab and Haryana High Court had given directions to make the payments to the farmers (by August 31). Then the government took a decision to de-notify the land acquired to develop the sectors. However, a formal notification is yet to be issued,” said a HUDA official.

“We have just proposed the recovery of compensation within 30 days,” said the official when asked about recovery of compensation and interests from farmer.

A delegation of farmers headed by Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav met chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and urged him not to force the farmers to return the compensation along with interest.

Haryana government had last year scrapped Dadupur Nalvi canal project and announced that the compensation amount along with the interest will be recovered from the farmers.

The land acquisition for the Dadupur Nalvi canal in the Yamunanagar district of the state was started in 1987 and continued going on till 2009, but last year the government decided to scrap the project and return the acquired land to farmers.