Siliguri, July 29: Around 1,000 traders today agreed to give land on either side of NH31 at Bagdogra for the laying of an international highway after they were assured of compensation under the central act.
The land acquisition is needed for the Asian Highway II, a 13,177km road that would connect Indonesia with China.
In north Bengal, a 37km-long stretch of the highway will pass through Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, connecting Panitanki (on the India-Nepal border) with Fulbari (on the India-Bangladesh boundary).
Another proposed international road, Asian Highway 48, will also pass through north Bengal.
The 90km highway will start from Jaigaon (on the India-Bhutan border) and end at Changrabandha (on India-Bangladesh border).
This morning, north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb held a meeting with members of the Bagdogra Byabsayee Samiti and elaborated on the plan to compensate and rehabilitate them
The Darjeeling district administration said the state public works department would invoke National Highway Act, 1956, to take over the land required for the two Asian highways and the state government wouldn’t have to pay a single rupee for the acquisition.
“As the land is acquired as per the NH Act of 1956, the compensation will have to be worked out according to the 2013 central Act (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013). The land losers would get compensation as per the central act of 2013, that is two or four times the value of their plots, depending on the location. As Bagdogra is a rural area, the traders are likely to get compensation four times the value of their plots,” said a source in the district administration.
“The Centre will pay the entire compensation. No money would flow out of the state exchequer to compensate the people. Altogether, it is easy to obtain assent from the people,” added the source.
The state doesn’t accept the 2013 Act.
Deb said: “We require land on both sides of NH31 in Bagdogra for the proposed Asian Highway II. Today, we held a meeting with local businessmen and assured them of proper compensation and rehabilitation. There is a three-acre government plot near the airport where we will build a market complex and rehabilitate all businessmen who will have to vacate their plots for the Asian Highway II.”
The minister told the business community that the two international highways would boost the economy of north Bengal, especially places like Bagdogra.
The traders’ body has around 4,000 members and 1,000 of them will be affected by the land acquisition.
“The minister has spoken in detail about the compensation and rehabilitation plan. The minister said the construction of the market complex to accommodate the affected businessmen would commence by October,” said Subir Roy, the general secretary of the Bagdogra Byabsayee Samiti.
The shops and business establishments that are likely to be removed are along a 4km stretch of the highway.
Sources said the market complex would be constructed by the north Bengal development department.
NH31 has two lanes now and it has to be widened to four lanes for the Asian Highway I
