•-Just in the recent past, out Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Neiphiu Rio had made a statement in the local dailies that “No land compensation will be given for development of Roadways and Railways in the state”. Coming across this incredible statement from the Hon’ble CM. I was shocked because I am one of the affected landowner under Dimapur- Zubza railway project. I have no big land like some but a small plot of land in Dimapur purchased with my meager hard-earned savings. Unfortunately, my small plot of land was crossed straight in the middle by the railway track. Now only 10 to 20 sqft. remains which is unusable. In spite of this, the railway state government and the Landowners had several times negotiated land compensation and finally an agreeable rate of compensation was reached and now awaiting for payment.
However, the recent statement of Hon’ble CM surprised me and all the affected landowners that if this principle of ‘no land compensation for railways and roadways’ is implemented then the precious name-tags of DAN government as ‘people’s government’, ‘welfare government’ etc will be questioned and reverse it as anti-people and authoritarian government.
In the light of the above, from now on, it will be good if both the government and landowners always respect each others right and mutually acceptable and reasonable compensation be brought out through negotiation by neither demanding exorbitantly high rate of compensation by the landowners nor bulldozing and ignoring individual right to property by the government.
Ziipuni, Kohima
