सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Jaleshwor (Mahottari). The construction of the railway in Bardibas, Mahottari has been halted due to protests by locals. Alleging that the Railway Department has started the bidding process without resolving the compensation issue for the land to be acquired, the landowners of Bardibas Municipality-14 have stopped the construction of the railway.
Fourteen families, who have been living on land near the railway station area in Bardibas Municipality for years under the Janakpur-Bardibas railway project, had demanded that the Railway Department demarcate the land, resolve the dispute and distribute compensation. However, local Malti Khanal said that they protested and stopped the work because the department acted arbitrarily.
The department has not resolved the land compensation dispute in those places for a long time and has started the bidding process in a hurry, so the work has not been able to gain momentum after the locals opposed the railway work. When the Railway Department called for bidding without demarcation, the land of the locals has been acquired indiscriminately. Compensation for land falling under the same criteria has been given at different rates arbitrarily. Some have been given compensation on time, while others have not been provided even after years, said local leader Neeraj Adhikari.
He alleged that the hasty start of the bidding process is raising doubts about the department’s intentions. The land near the station was surveyed by a surveyor in 2022 BS. But at that time, the land title deed was not obtained. Compensation for the land for which the land title deed was obtained has been distributed in 2078 BS at Rs. 6.1 million per plot.
However, local Khadga Bahadur Singh said that the compensation for the 14 families who had not obtained the land title deed was stopped due to technical reasons. According to former ward president Bharat Bahadur Hamal, although the Railway Department was clear that compensation should be given for the land, it could not be given due to the lack of the land title deed. Quoting the Railway Department, former ward chairman Hamal says that the government is not in a position to provide compensation without a decision, saying that the ministry has already recommended that compensation be given for the land.
In this context, Assistant Chief District Officer and District Spokesperson Upendra Neupane said that the locals in the area have also refused to accept the decision, saying that the compensation is less than the norm. “The railway victims say that the government should provide money to settle in another place, saying that they have been forced to leave their property behind.
The department and the contractor had held talks with the victims several times regarding this. However, the contractors have not started work in these areas since the locals have demarcated the land and are adamant that they will not allow work to be done until compensation is paid,” said Assistant Chief District Officer Neupane. In this context, Kamal Sah, Information Officer of Janakpur Railway, said that as per the law, compensation cannot be given for land without land title deeds and the reason for which compensation is not disclosed is that there is a problem in distributing compensation to 14 households in Bardibas.
He said that even though the households have been living in that place for more than 20 years, the department has not been able to provide compensation because they do not have land title deeds. However, after the railway operations were stopped due to them, the problem has been discussed with the concerned bodies through the Ministry and the Land Commission, and the Council of Ministers has also decided to address their problems and ordered them to produce written proof of land (land title deed or other basis for revealing ownership of land) to receive compensation, said Information Officer Sah. He also expressed confidence that the agitating landowners of Bardibas will receive compensation soon. Currently, railway victims are taking further initiatives to resolve their problems by directly meeting the Railway Department, Ministry, Land Commission and other stakeholders in the federal capital Kathmandu.
Currently, all activities on the railway line, including filling soil, making leaks, building bridges, land acquisition, and vacating houses, have come to a standstill.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्