Jammu and Kashmir
,
Pulwama
,
Pulwama
Published :
Mar 2018
|
Updated :
Kashmir Farmers Seek Higher Compensation for Semi-Ring Road Land Acquisition
Reported by
Athar Parvaiz
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Edited by
Anupa Kujur
Households affected
4800
People affected
2017
Year started
275
ha.
Land area affected
Households affected
4800
People Affected
2017
Year started
275
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Infrastructure
Reason/Cause of conflict
Roads
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Urban
Ended
Sector
Infrastructure
Reason/Cause of conflict
Roads
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Urban
Ended
1
Summary

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is constructing a 42 km long semiring road requiring an investment of Rs. 939.41 crores in five districts (Pulwama, Budgam, Srinagar, Baramulla, Bandipora & Ganderbal) of Jammu & Kashmir. The road is supposed to ease the mobility of traffic and connect South and Central Kashmir Pampore town with Manigam, Sonmarg, Baltal base camp and finally reach Ladakh. For the project, over 600 acres of fertile apple and plum orchards and paddy fields is to be acquired. However, farmers are unhappy with the compensation offered under the the Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act, 1934. In 2017, the new Land Acquisition Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act (LARR), 2013 was not applicable in Jammu & Kashmir under the provisions of Article 370. Affected farmers argued in protests that the compensation offered to them was 4times below what is offered in the other states. In [2018](http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/semiringroadlandownersdemandadequatecompensation/269512.html, http://www.knskashmir.com/NHAISshabbylandcompensationunitesKashmiriJammufarmers23250, http://kashmirlife.net/deviousdispossessionissue44vol09164266/, http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=76181, https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/srinagarcity/removebottleneckstostartworkonsemiringroad/288708.html, https://kashmirreader.com/2018/07/19/semiringroadlandownersprotestdemandadequatecompensation/, https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/srinagarcity/expeditelandacquisitionforsemiringroadprojectdivcommtoofficers/284560.html), they asked for an opportunity to have private negotiations of the prices with NHAI, which the latter declined. They also demand the central LARR Act 2013 be implemented in the state. Since January 2018, farmers under the banner of Ring/SemiRing Road Land Owners Welfare Committee (RRLOWC) have approached officials and protested against the acquisition and the compensation. The officials continued to proceed with acquisition ahead of its inauguration on May 19, 2018. In August 2020, the project in Kashmir was still stuck at the land acquisition phase, with little no progress having been made since its initiation in 2018. In November 2020, the High Court of Srinagar, directed the Government against land acquisition for Srinagar Semi Ring Road until next hearing before the bench as the authorities failed to compensate for the land within time. Petitioners approached the judiciary seeking new land acquisition process under the central Land Acquisition Act, which came into operation in the union territory in 2019.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for compensation

Demand for more compensation than promised

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Urban

Type of Land

Private

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

939.41

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

4
Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) , Government of Jammu & Kashmir, Revenue Department

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Ring / Semi Ring Road Land Owners Welfare Committee (RRLOWC)

5
Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Legal Supporting Documents

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Author
Reported by
Athar Parvaiz
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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for compensation

Demand for more compensation than promised

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

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Exclusive monthly policy briefs, stories from the ground, Quarterly Analytics report, Curated Expert talks, merchandise and much more.


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