Cabinet approves rehabilitation package for NHDP

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While approving the rehabilitation package for evictees created by the National Highway Development Programme, the Cabinet on Thursday asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to review the alignment prepared for the development of NH-17 and NH- 47.

‘’There are several complaints about the alignment prepared by the NHAI. Even the State Government was kept in the dark while finalising the alignment. We feel that some complaints are genuine. The decision of the Cabinet meeting is to demand a review of alignment wherever there is a dispute,’’ said PWD Minister M Vijayakumar.

The rehabilitation package includes a number of humane suggestions such as compensating the loss of those who are illegal occupants of purambokku land on the sides of the NH.

The suggestion is to give Rs one lakh to all such people in addition to the price of building or shop that needs to be acquired.

This is in addition to the payment of minimum wages for six months so that the evicted dweller can meet his day-to-day expenses till he sets up an alternate livelihood.

The rehabilitation plan moots the setting up of district- level purchase committees to acquire land needed for the widening of NH-17 and NH-47.

Though negotiated purchase of land is not possible under the National Highway Act, the recommendation of the Cabinet is to introduce a fast track system to acquire land by disbursing market price to the affected parties.

‘’The proposal is to acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act instead of the National Highway Act. We received the legal advice that it is possible,’’ said Vijayakumar.

Another important suggestion in the plan is to give land just behind the evicted plot to the victims. The logic, put forth by the Cabinet, is that the worthiness of the land of those who live behind the acquired plot will increase just because of the development programme.

‘’A certain per cent of the increase in the price of their land needs to be sacrificed for those who lose their land,’’ suggests the plan.

Constructing shopping complexes at junctions, with the help of LSG institutions and government agencies, to rehabilitate those who lose their shops for road development has also been suggested in the plan.