Ramva village to impose ban on NH-202 expansion work
Source: The Sangai Express / Mungchan Zimik
Ukhrul, September 23 2023:
Aggrieved by prolonged denial of fair land compensation, Ramva villagers are all set to impose a ban on the ongoing NH-202 highway expansion work on Ukhrul-Imphal road within the village jurisdiction from October 1 onwards.
Speaking to this correspondent, AS Wungnaoyo Zimik, headman of Ramva village spoke about issues and grievances of villagers affected by the road expansion work.
He said the villagers warmly welcome development but cannot agree with the blatant denial of their legitimate rights and fair compensation to affected land owners.
Ramva Village Authority has submitted numerous complaint petitions to the competent authorities including Arbitrator and Deputy Commissioner of Ukhrul seeking redressal of the issues of land acquisition for NH-202 expansion, he said.
In view of the unabated deprivation of their rights, Ramva villagers convened a village assembly on August 23 and unanimously resolved to impose a ban on NH-202 expansion work in case the authority concerned fails to redress the problem on or before September 30.The same resolution was also served to the Deputy Commissioner of Ukhrul and the Arbitrator for their intervention but they are yet to receive any response, he said.
Meanwhile, secretary of Ramva Land Highway Committee, Worthingshang Kasar elaborated their discontentment against the land acquisition.
He stated that the land acquired for highway expansion were wrongly classified without proper verification of commercial, residential, homestead and open areas.
The road expansion work is in a big mess as some areas are still yet to be acquired, he said.
The expansion work of NH-202 has blocked and changed the course of a local stream thereby adversely impacting the local farmers.
The authorities also need to address this issue, he said.
He also alleged that the compensation rate is very low as compared to rates in other places.
If the authorities concerned fail to address their demands by September 30, they will definitely ban the road expansion work from October 1, he continued.