Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal
Bantwal, Jun 30: MLA Rajesh Naik Uliipadiguthu convened a special meeting at his B C Road office with affected farmers and officials of the concerned departments to discuss the grievances of farmers who lost their agricultural land for the Udupi–Kasargod 400 kV power transmission line project and are still awaiting compensation. During the meeting, he directed officials to expedite the disbursal of the pending compensation.
The 400 kV power transmission line connecting Udupi and Kasargod districts passes through several villages in Bantwal taluk, and hundreds of farmers had to part with their agricultural land for the project. While compensation has already been paid to most eligible beneficiaries, farmers informed the MLA that payments in some cases are still pending due to discrepancies in land records, technical issues and administrative procedures.
Speaking at the meeting, the farmers said that although they had given up their agricultural land in the larger public interest, they had been facing financial hardship due to the prolonged delay in receiving compensation. They pointed out that several families depend entirely on agriculture for their livelihood, and the loss of land has severely affected their income. They urged the authorities to dispose of all pending cases without further delay and release compensation in accordance with government rules.
After hearing the grievances, Rajesh Naik said that while public development projects are essential, they should not result in injustice to farmers. He instructed officials to personally examine every technical and documentation-related issue delaying compensation and resolve them at the earliest within the framework of the law and government regulations.
He further directed officials to review the progress of every pending case and expedite the compensation process by ensuring better coordination between the concerned departments and project authorities. He also instructed them to ensure that no eligible farmer faces unnecessary delay in receiving compensation.
Among those present at the meeting were tahsildar Manjunath, revenue inspector Janardhan, project head Venkatesh Poojary, managers Abhishek and Agnel Gonsalves, assistant managers Rohit and Sachin, officer Zheram, and officials from the concerned departments. They assured the gathering that every case raised by the farmers would be examined and the necessary action taken at the earliest.
Farmers from various villages who have been affected by the project also attended the meeting and brought to the notice of the officials the issues they were facing, including difficulties related to land records and documentation.