ITANAGAR, 28 Jul: Even before the start of work on Itanagar to Jote 2-lane highway, the villagers of Batt village under the aegis of Batt Village Land Affected Forum have appealed to the state government to provide compensation to the people whose properties will be damaged due to construction of the highway.
Talking to the press here on Wednesday, veteran PPA leader and chairman of the forum, Kamen Ringu urged the state government to pay compensation to genuinely affected people.
“We are not demanding a very high compensation. There are very few assets, altogether hardly 10 to 15 permanent or semi-permanent structures which will be affected. It won’t cost much,” said Ringu.
He also said people of Batt village were not part of the decision made by villages of Sangdupota circle to donate land free-of-cost for the construction of Itanagar to Jote 2-lane highway.
“When the decision was taken during the visit of Chief Minister Pema Khandu a few years ago, we were not involved. The district administration should immediately start dialogue with the locals of Batt village and resolve the land issue before starting the construction work,” he added.
However, he made it clear that the people of Batt village welcome the decision of the state government to convert the Itanagar-Batt-Jote road into a 2-lane highway and will extend all possible help for early completion of the project.
Meanwhile, an official of the PWD Doimukh division made it clear that compensation will not be paid to anyone in the stretch from Itanagar to Jote.
“The district administration has already acquired the land and there is no provision for compensation. Everybody will have to cooperate. The state government has made it clear that if there is no land there will be no road,” the official stated.
He also informed that a tender process is going on and work will be awarded by the end of August. The construction of Itanagar to Jote 2-lane highway is expected to start in October.
