Expressway land acquisition: Ex-Bihar minister, Tikait to lead protest in Kaimur

Late last year, the state government had conducted a survey for compensation to farmers for the land to be acquired for the expressway.

Bihar’s former agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh and Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait will lead a protest against the proposed land acquisition for the Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway and address two gatherings on February 25 and 26 in Kaimur district.

Former Bihar agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh. (HT Photo)

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed a 610-kilometre-long access-controlled expressway connecting Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Kolkata (West Bengal) via Ranchi in Jharkhand. It is proposed to cover a 159-kilometre stretch in Bihar, passing through Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Gaya districts, and is expected to be completed by 2026.

Late last year, the state government had conducted a survey for compensation to farmers for the land to be acquired for the expressway.

Farmers allege that their homestead and commercial land were wrongly registered as agricultural land, which will reduce the proposed compensation amount to even less than 20% of the market value of the land.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday after meeting farmers in Kaimur, Singh said the central land acquisition law passed in 2013 provided for compensation four times the market value. “But they changed it to four times of the circle value in 2017 to facilitate industrialists and corporates,” he said.

“Also, service road is not being constructed along the expressway and a pedestrian crossings will be provided for every five kilometres. This will make the remaining land of the farmers useless and farming will be impossible. Some farmers are becoming landless...[they have] no alternative for their livelihood,” the former minister said, while announcing Tikait’s programme.

Singh, MLA from Ramgarh in Kaimur district, is from the RJD, the lead constituent in the ruling alliance in Bihar. He had to quit as agriculture minister after a brief stint last year following his repeated attacks on chief minister Nitish Kumar.