New Delhi: In the face of the criticism in Parliament and protest from farmers, the Mayawati government on Tuesday decided to hike the compensation to the farmers by 20 per cent at Rs 570 per square metre.
A team of top state officials led by state cabinet secretary Sashankh Sekhar Singh and some senior ministers of the Mayawati government held talks with farmer leader Ram Babu Kateria at the Aligarh airstrip in the early hours on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the farmer protests in Aligarh and Vedanta Resources' $ 1.7 billion bauxite mining project sent Parliament into a tizzy with the Lok Sabha being adjourned till 2 pm on Tuesday.
BJP leader Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha condemned the forceful acquisition of farmers’ land by the government and said the compensation for Aligarh farmers should be similar to what those in Gautam Budh Nagar get. He also stressed the need to pass a land acquisition act. Speaking for the Left, Basudev Acharya said the Aligarh incident is an unfortunate one and the demand of the farmers is not wrong and unfair.
The Opposition was also very vociferous on the Vedanta issue and demanded the compensation and rehabilitation of the people who lose their livelihood because of mining operations.
In Aligarh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Aligarh, Satender Veer Singh said that "The package offered by the state government includes the provision of raising the compensation price offered to the farmers to Rs 570 per square metre (about 20 per cent higher than the earlier price)".
It is expected that the farmer leaders will place this offer before the kisan panchayat at the dharna site at village Jikarpur and seek its "ratification".
Kateria, who is under arrest, is expected to be produced before a judicial magistrate on Tuesday. He is presently at a private nursing home after he had complained of some "discomfort" on Monday.
The state government has also decided to set up a high-level committee headed by the divisional commissioner to further review all other issues related to acquisition of farm land along the Noida-Taj Expressway in the district, officials said.
After clashes between protesters and police left four persons, including a PAC jawan, dead, farmers were continuing their sit-in in the village.
Opposition leaders, including former BJP president Rajnath Singh, Leader of Opposition in UP assembly Shiv Pal Singh Yadav and RLD leader Ajit Singh, had on Monday addressed the mahapanchayat and extended support to the agitating farmers.
SP leader Akhilesh Yadav had said that while the farmers were being paid Rs 436 per square metre, it was being given to a private developer at Rs 4700 per sq metre.
The farmers have been holding demonstrations for nearly three weeks near Aligarh demanding compensation at the rate paid to Noida and Greater Noida farmers. The protests turned violent over the past three days.
The 165 km-long eight-lane expressway is aimed at reducing the driving time between New Delhi and Agra.
Comments
0 comment