Mon, October 25 (MExN): The Affected Land Owners’ Association (ALOA) of Mon district on Sunday cautioned against the utilization of land for project works without releasing compensation to the land owners, which stands against the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Knowing the subsistence of people in Mon District depends on jhum cultivation which is utilized in the form of 6-7 years shifting/rotation cultivation from generations to generation and losing it in expense of development works without any land compensation, the association revisits the importance of land that the inheritance value of land should remain well protected, it said in a press release issued by its Chairperson Leipho Konyak and General Secretary Shinwang Konyak.
It also underscored that protecting the values of land does not stop from any development work; however, the values should be added in the form of compensating land accordingly.
It said that the association would not allow any land owners to accept any ‘arbitrary/random payments’ and that “the amount so paid must be proportionate and should commensurate the losses incurred by the affected land owners.”
On the upcoming National Highway project tendered in Mon district, the release stated that the association has ‘delegated and conscientized’ the land owners that no Government, NGOs, companies and individuals would be allowed to enforce any law for free land without land compensation, and reminded project managers and contractors to comply with the norms of the land compensation Act 2013 by compensating land as per the specified rules.
If any project is found undertaking against the resolution of the association and the land compensation Act, it shall be dealt legally, the release stated.
Further, the association appealed to the people of Mon to understand that standing for the rights of the land owners for land compensation does not prohibit the development in the District.
“The association welcomes and is open to every development work in the District for the welfare of the people; however, there shall be no manipulation of the people and the land in expense of developmental work,” it asserted.
