Mangaluru: The patience of the Bhoomalikara Horata Samiti NH-169 is wearing thin over the numerous delays encountered in acquiring land for the development of NH-169 between Bikarnakatte and Sanoor.
The process started in May 2016 and since then, two more 3(1)C notifications were issued by the National Highways Authority of India have been waiting for the acquisition of their land and the beginning of development work for more than seven years. The SLAO report states that 97,053 square meters of land must be purchased, with an estimated cost of Rs 286.5 crore. The Samithi has now pleaded with the NHAI authorities to drop their legal challenge to the compensation award and accept the special land acquisition officer’s (SLAO) declaration by December 4. The land losers have made the decision not to donate their land for highway development if NHAI objects to this. The president of the Samithi and an advocate, Mariamma Thomas, told TOI that the NHAI ought to have assessed the situation before taking such a drastic step. The NHAI intends to begin the four-laning from Baithurli, where the disputed Padavu village border ends, according to information we have received from reliable sources. Does this have any significance? She pointed out that “they are allegedly trying to exclude that part and start it somewhere else,” as the NH 169 is supposed to begin in Bikkarnakatte. According to Mariamma, the valuation is essentially the point of contention. The guidance value of 2019, or roughly Rs 10 lakh per cent of the land, would be payable by the NHAI. The value as of 2023 is Rs 13 lakh. According to her, the NHAI wants to pay one-fifth of the value for commercial land that is not converted, but they are willing to pay guidance value for converted land. Mariamma observed that many homes were constructed before the conversion—from agricultural to non-agricultural—was necessary, but the owners still resided in those homes and did not see the need to complete the conversion. The whole of Padavu village is classified as non-agricultural in the guidance valuation and the NHAI wants to pay a pittance for non-converted land, she alleged. This would mean that one cent of non-converted land would attract less than Rs 2 lakh per cent, whereas a land parcel in the same area, but converted, would get a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. NHAI project director Abdulla Javed Azmi said that they would not withdraw the case at the high court. “We will wait for the verdict and decide to challenge or accept it, based on its merits,’’ he added.
