Farmers Demand Higher Compensation; Protest Against Acquisition of 1,810 Acres of Land in Manesar

Farmers from the surrounding villages protested the proposed acquisition of 1,810 acres in Kasan, Kakrola, and Sehrawan for the expansion of IMT Manesar on Saturday by blocking both lanes of NH48 at Pachgaon Chowk. They also demanded that either their land be liberated or they receive just recompense for the land.

According to villagers, the government is buying the land to expand the Industrial Model Township in Manesar. The state government is expected to announce the farmers' final compensation award on August 16.

The district administration announced that villagers and officials had a meeting on Saturday to discuss the matter. "The villagers requested a second meeting with the chief minister to examine the issue and demanded that the compensation award date be moved from August 16 to a later date. The date of compensation award has been set as per the legal process, making it difficult to postpone, however, ADC Vishram Kumar Meena informed the villagers that a meeting with the chief minister will be scheduled in a week.

The government has already acquired a large area for the development of IMT Manesar, according to Hemlata, a protester from Kasan village, “Villagers are making do with only a small amount of land. The land is not paying adequate or fair compensation for the land. The government is offering Rs 55 lakh per acre while the market value of land is much higher. 

You cannot buy one plot in that amount in Gurgaon. This is unfair. Either our land should be released, or we should receive fair compensation.”

Protesters said they would intensify the protest if the demands are not met. The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) started the land acquisition procedure in 2011, however, the case was contested in court. In 2020, the Punjab and Haryana governments vacated the stay and the authorities restarted the process of acquisition.

According to the district administration, the traffic was cleared when protesters were carried into two buses and taken to the Manesar police station. Later that evening, they were let go. Gurnam Singh Charuni, the leader of the Haryana farming community, was detained.

As a result of commuters having to use different routes to get from Delhi to Jaipur and Jaipur to Delhi, there was reported to be traffic congestion on the highway for more than two hours. DCP traffic Virender Singh Sangwan stated, "The protest had an impact on traffic. It was cleared in an hour.”

"A total of 11 people were taken to the police station and detained," stated Charuni. Later, everyone was let go. We met with district administration representatives to discuss the demands of the farmers.