Raipur, Oct 29 (IANS): The Chhattisgarh government has announced an additional rehabilitation package in a bid to appease protesting farmers whose lands were acquired by the state for the construction of Naya Raipur, the upcoming capital of the 12-year-old state. Dozens of affected families will benefit from this decision, official sources said Monday.
According to the decision, farmers who sold their land to Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) with mutual agreement will be given rehabilitation compensation at the rate of Rs.15,000 per acre per year for the next 14 years, applicable from financial year 2012-13 to 2025-26, with Rs.750 per acre hike every year.
Farmers who sold their land before 2010-11 will be given one-time extra compensation at the rate of Rs.2.50 lakh per hectare.
Sources said that after discussions with affected farmers, Chief Minister Raman Singh also announced that ownership deeds of 1,200 sq feet land would be given to every adult member of the affected families.
"The government has also committed to provide 75 percent of the shops proposed to be constructed in the villages of Naya Raipur capital region to affected families at actual cost. Besides, 10 to 20 percent of shops in shopping complexes constructed by the Chhattisgarh Housing Board and Naya Raipur Development Authority will also be reserved for affected families on offset premium rates," NRDA officials told IANS.
Naya Raipur, located about 20 km east of the present capital Raipur, will be Chhattisgarh's capital from Nov 1 -- the state came into existence Nov 1, 2000, after a split from Madhya Pradesh.
NRDA officials say Naya Raipur will have broadband connectivity provided through optical fibre cables and Wi-Max as it will be an administrative nerve centre of Chhattisgarh having the secretariat, police headquarters, state assembly and offices of heads of departments.
It will also have a world-class convention centre, a five-star hotel, an IT SEZ, a gems and jewellery SEZ, a garment park, a theme residential township with an 18-hole golf course, an amusement park, super-specialty hospitals, commercial office space, museum, art galleries, entertainment parks, botanical garden, a law university, an education hub, a cultural centre, malls and a sports complex.