Land acquisition for airport expansion project
NONGPOH: Taken aback by the sudden dismantling of their houses and ‘forcible acquisition’ of their land for the proposed Umroi airport expansion project following the order of the High Court of Meghalaya, a group of around 20 land owners and a conglomeration of three organizations representing various spectrums of the society on Tuesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the land acquisition and compensation payment process, citing irregularities.
The revelation made by the land owners has come as a stunner and could be a tip of the iceberg of a potential land acquisition scandal where the authorities at the helm of affairs took undue advantage of the order of the High Court to ‘cover up their misdeeds’.
“Once the land is handed over to the authority concerned for the airport expansion, the file pertaining to the land acquisition process will be shelved behind closed cupboard,” said an affected land owner.
One of the affected land owners claimed that she had received a notice for payment of compensation against her house even though both her land as well as her house had been acquired for the airport expansion.
Another land owner lamented that she got notice for payment of the house and the land but the paddy field was not included in the notice for reward of compensation. Most of the land owners also expressed dissatisfaction with the amount awarded to them as compensation.
Earlier in the day, members of the Bharatiya Janata Party Umroi Madan unit led by its president Sen Thabah, CORP central body under the leadership of working president Bandari Ryntathiang and Eastern Ri Bhoi Farmers’ Association led by its working president C.L. Masharing conducted a joint spot inspection of the affected site at Umden Mission, Umroi.
During the inspection, the land owners vented out their anger against the sudden dismantling of their houses without giving them enough time to relocate themselves and thus leaving them homeless and without shelter.
The land owners and the organisations appealed to the High Court to initiate a proper inquiry by an independent agency (CBI) into the land acquisition payment for the Umroi airport expansion project.
The leaders of the three organisations also flayed the inhumane attitude of the Ri Bhoi district administration which did not provided the land owners ample time to relocate themselves, and at the same time demanded a CBI inquiry to uncover the truth behind the questionable method of payments against land acquisition.