Chandigarh
In the wake of the Chandigarh Administration’s proposal to award increased compensation for the remaining 167 acres of land proposed to be acquired for the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park, farmers of Manimajra and Daria villages have demanded a probe by the Central Vigilance Commission into the Administration’s land acquisition policies. A delegation of farmers met UT Advisor Pradip Mehra on Saturday to submit a detailed representation, alleging that certain Administration officials were hand-in-glove with the land-mafia. Mehra referred the matter to UT Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar. At the meeting with Mehra, the delegation also highlighted a point regarding the IT Park. “IT Park’s Phase I and II are sanctioned as Special Economic Zones by the Ministry of Commerce. Although the process of land acquisition for Phase III has been set in motion by the Chandigarh Administration, yet the necessary approval for sector specific SEZ has not been obtained from the Ministry. As per the decision of the Empowered Group of Ministers, no project will be granted approval for SEZ where the state governments have proposed to carry out acquisition of land after April 5, 2007,” stated the delegation.
