By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The farmers, who are affected by the construction of the two-lane Shillong Bye-Pass, will have to wait for a more month for compensation as the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is yet to approve the new assessment report submitted by the East Khasi Hills district administration.
“We submitted a new assessment report to the NHAI two weeks back and are still awaiting its response in this regard”, an official source said here on Sunday.
Targeting November 15 as the latest date for the NHAI to give its approval, the source said “We hope that this time the NHAI will not raise any objection unlike the previous occasion.”
While stating that since the construction of the Shillong Bye-Pass has been entrusted to the GR Infra Company, the official source said that compensation should be paid by the concerned company.
Since last year, the farmers have been demanding the government to pay compensation for the loss they suffered due to illegal dumping of soil in the paddy fields by GR Infra Company. The illegal dumping of soil meant that these lands could no longer be used for cultivation purpose thereby adversely affecting the livelihood of the farmers. Earlier this month, the East Khasi Hills district administration had directed the Agriculture and Horticulture department along with the NHAI to assess the damage. However, discrepancies in report submitted by the different departments forced the district administration to reject it and subsequently sought a new assessment report. Meanwhile, the KSU Mawryngkneng circle expressed disappointment over the delay in the payment compensation while stating for two seasons the land has remained barren and unfit to cultivate thereby affecting the livelihood of farmers of this areas.
