Landowners blocks the NH-29 Kohima-Jessami stretch in protest over unpaid compensation on July 17.
Kohima, July 20 (MExN): Aggrieved landowners affected by the Kohima-Jessami 2-lane road construction project along National Highway-29 have urged the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) to prioritise the settlement of pending compensation claims for damages caused during physical earth cutting since 2021.
The landowners called for a fair and timely resolution of their compensation demands, stating that their lives and livelihoods remain at stake.
‘Till such time, blockade for all NHIDCL-related works and activities shall remain,’ they asserted in a statement issued on Sunday.
As a mark of protest since July 17, the landowners had blocked NH-29 along Packages 2 to 5 of the project from Sedzu Bridge to Lanye Bridge halting all NHIDCL-related works and activities in the affected stretch.
The landowners maintained that they have spent the last four years engaging with multiple Deputy Commissioners and Executive Directors of NHIDCL, as well as appealing to civil society organisations and local legislators, seeking redress for the alleged damage to their properties.
Despite several rounds of verification, estimation, and approvals by the State Government, the compensation remains unpaid, they said.
Many affected families continue to live in unsafe structures or are without proper housing, the added.
Accordingly, the landowners accused the NHIDCL of showing a “blatant disregard for the humanitarian implications of the delay in providing adequate compensation.”
The repeated shift in the NHIDCL’s stand from requiring a policy, to stating that no policy is needed, to claiming insurance coverage is available, and now reverting to the need for a policy has led to unnecessary hardship, they stated.
They termed this as “delay tactics” and criticised what they described as the Agency’s lack of acknowledgement of the human impact of the prolonged delay.
The protestors also questioned the inconsistency in compensation practices, pointing out that in other ongoing or completed NHIDCL projects such as the Kohima-Dimapur 4-lane and the Phek-Pfutsero 2-lane roads, where compensations were paid for damages to structures outside the Right of Way (ROW). They demanded to know why a similar approach could not be taken in their case.
The landowners further alleged that NHIDCL has not recognised the efforts of the State Government, which they claim has submitted necessary documentation, including estimates and verification reports on three occasions.
Accordingly, the landowners urge the NHIDCL to find a mutually acceptable solution and ensure that justice.
