The National Highway Action Committee will take out a march to the Kozhikode Collectorate on December 28 with a call to rectify the alleged flaws in the valuation process for acquisition of land for the highway widening project.
Holding officials accountable for the “deliberate errors”, committee leaders said here on Wednesday that they would resist evacuation attempts if the government failed to address technical errors and their concerns over the rehabilitation package.
“We are not against the highway expansion plan. What we seek is a reasonable compensation and rehabilitation package. The widening plan should be implemented after addressing the genuine concerns of the affected people,” said A.T. Mahesh, regional convener of the committee. He claimed that around 5,000 traders on the 49-km-long highway between Vengalam and Azhiyoor in Kozhikode district were the majority who were dragged into a crisis owing to faulty valuation.
According to Mr. Mahesh, there was huge “discrimination and trickery” in determining the value of property in the project area which had already been challenged by the action committee in the Kerala High Court. “The valuation team was actually cheating landowners who cooperated with the Revenue Department for facilitating quick execution of the project. No such undervaluation was reported from any other districts,” he alleged.
