Farmers have been demonstrating for 173 days in front of the Hanumangarh Collectorate under the banner of the Kisan Sangarsh Samiti. They are demanding a higher compensation for their land that has been acquired. Their demands have been ignored by both, the state government and the Central Government.
The farmers started this protest when they received very little compensation for acquisition of their agricultural land. At the same time, neighbouring states like Haryana and Punjab have awarded compensation many times this for agricultural land acquired in those states.
Hundreds of people are joining the demonstration every day. The Samiti has decided that they will not allow construction of the highway till they are paid compensation at market value.
Sukhdev Singh Maudan, Dalip Chimpa, Surendra Sharma, Bahadur Singh, Birbal Das, Mohan Jakkad, Ram Kisan, Shakur Mohammad, Gurudayal Singh, Chanannram, Krishnalal and Prem Nai and others have been sitting in protest without a break. Hanuman Prasad Sharma, vice President of the All India Council of Lok Raj Sangathan joined the protest and expressed his support for the demand.
The farmers have presented the following demands:
- Farmers of Rajasthan must be compensated equal to compensation received by farmers of Punjab and Haryana for land acquisition, so they can provide for themselves and their families. This would ensure that the loss suffered by the farmer on account of land acquisition is sufficiently compensated.
- With NH 754K cutting through their land in such a way that the land of individual farmers is divided in fragments on either side of the highway, the farmer will find it impossible to provide irrigation to his land and also access his land located on either side of the highway. The farmer will not be able to cross the Economic Corridor highway which will be at a height of 3 metres. Consequently, whatever land remains with the farmer will be rendered uncultivable – this problem needs to be resolved.
- Our agricultural land is ancestral. Less than two per cent of large parcels of land are bought or sold. Therefore, a Committee should be established so that the market value of the land can be determined and compensation can be awarded at four times that market value.
- Upto 10 km of the land in Hanumangarh is deemed to be urban. However, for compensation, the land is taken as rural land. This has to be corrected and the relevant land must be compensated on the basis of being urban land.
- One member of the family of farmers whose land is being acquired should be provided with a government job.
The Sangarsh Samiti of affected farmers has been going on continuously for nearly 6 months and till date there has been no official hearing by the Administration