2 months on, no hope for Shahberi investors

Two months after the Supreme Court quashed forcible land acquisition in village Shahberi on July 5, the crisis is yet to be resolved. HT reports.

Two months after the Supreme Court quashed forcible land acquisition in village Shahberi on July 5, the crisis is yet to be resolved.

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The authority has struck a deal with Patwari village, hoping to save 20,000 houses. Officials are in talks with farmers in Haibatpur and Itaidha, where 12,000 houses are at stake, and sealing some deals too.

But since the Supreme Court set aside the acquisition of land in Shahberi, affecting 6,500 houses, and no out-of-court settlement has been advised by the court, the issue remains unresolved.

Builders have returned the land to farmers. Now, the authority needs to go for reacquisition under the new land policy of the state, which makes land costlier.

Builders are not sure if they will have to pay new rates (the authority has hiked land rates). They have already spent a lot of money on construction of apartments in the village too.

The village today is a visual and legal mess. Muddy roads and concrete pillars of unfinished apartments tell the story. Buyers have invested their life savings in down payments. They have taken loans that need to be repaid regardless of whether the crisis is resolved.