Manethi farmers agree to sell land for AIIMS project

Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service
Rewari, January 18

With the Forest Department declaring the proposed 224-acre land for the AIIMS project as a part of Aravalli Plantation Zone (APZ) where construction is prohibited, farmers of Manethi village here have agreed to sell their land for the project.

At a general body meeting of Manethi gram panchayat held here on Saturday, the farmers said since the project is vital for the development of the region, hence they were ready to provide their land to the government at collector rate.

“The collector rate in Manethi village is Rs 24 lakh per acre and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during his recent visit to Rewari last week had assured us of providing extra Rs 5 lakh per acre. Hence, the farmers will get Rs 29 lakh per acre in lieu of selling their land for the project,” said Sheotaz Singh, sarpanch of Manethi village who presided over the meeting.

He said that more than 1,000 acres of private land was available in the village.

He pointed out that the meeting aimed at making an appeal to the farmers to sell their land to ensure the implementation of the project in Manethi in a situation when the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Centre had described the proposed 224 acres for the project as non-specific stating that it falls under the APZ.

“At the meeting, great enthusiasm was seen among the farmers towards the proposal of selling their land for the AIIMS project. They are so excited about the project that many of them have also expressed their desire to provide their land free of cost,” claimed the sarpanch, adding that Rewari SDM had been apprised of the farmers’ decision.

Singh maintained all the farmers were ready to submit affidavits to the authority concerned for selling their land. Hence, the district administration had also roped in a patwari who would sit at Manethi village daily from Sunday onwards to help the farmers in completing paper formalities for the same, he added.

State Congress spokesman Ved Prakash Vidrohi said the BJP government was fooling the people in the name of AIIMS.

“The government has special power to acquire any land for executing the project but it deliberately does not want to do so as new Land Acquisition Act ensures the compensation at four times the collector rate. As a result, the government is asking farmers to sell their land at collector rate,” he pointed out.