E-Paper
Khajrana residents protest land acquisition by IDA
KHAJRANA RESIDENTS today staged a demonstration at the Collectorate to protest the proposed acquisition of their land by the Indore Development Authority (IDA) under Scheme No 132.
KHAJRANA RESIDENTS today staged a demonstration at the Collectorate to protest the proposed acquisition of their land by the Indore Development Authority (IDA) under Scheme No 132.
The affected residents charged the Authority with announcing the Scheme without carrying out a proper survey of the concerned land and demanded a chance to present their version of events.
Until this is done the gazette notification for the scheme should be withheld and no changes made either to the land or the houses built thereon. The landholders threatened to approach the courts if their demands were not met.
The protests came after the IDA recently published a general notice in local dailies announcing its intention to acquire over 500 acres of land in Khajrana.
The demonstrators, however, want a portion of the land to be excluded from the Scheme on grounds that it houses more than 2,000 dwelling units as well as busy public thoroughfares.
They also charge the Authority with making precipitate announcements without getting a handle on the ground situation. In a memorandum submitted to the District Collector the protestors claimed that the area slated for acquisition housed nearly 10,000 farmers who have built houses close to their landholdings.
All these would be uprooted in case Scheme 132 was launched. The plaint further stressed that if granted sufficient time they would back up their claims with documentary proof including copies of registered sale deeds, notarised affidavits as well as photographs of houses built on the concerned land.
The memorandum, however, warned that the affected residents would approach the courts if they were not granted a fair hearing by the IDA.
If, on the other hand, the Authority acceded to their demand the memorandum said landowners would be quite willing to pay whatever fees levied as development charges.
“We voluntarily offered to pay development charges if our land was excluded, but the IDA insists on ousting us,” lamented Khajrana resident Feroze Patel.
The protestors warned that the memorandum was a primary step and if it did not produce the required results they would submit detailed objections through their legal representative.
It may be recalled that IDA has proposed the acquisition of over 500 acres of farmland in Khajrana mostly consisting of the tract behind Malwi Petrol Pump on the Ring Road, Pushp Vihar, Sai Kripa and Ishaque Patel Public School for developing Scheme No 132.
IDA chief defends move
IDA Chairman Madhu Verma said, ‘‘The protests are an attempt by vested interests to stall Scheme 132. It is obvious that the houses were built after the scheme was launched otherwise the owners would have protested during the claims-and-objections period.
The matter was paced beyond our purview once the objections deadline expired. Now the affected residents will be compensated as per the directives of the district Land Acquisition Officer.
