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Cong. leader seeks Governor's help

Special Correspondent

`Hooda Government's decision to acquire land will affect lakhs of families'

CHANDIGARH: Senior Congress leader Subhash Batra called on the Haryana Governor, A.R.Kidwai, at Raj Bhavan here on Tuesday and sought his intervention in directing the Hooda Government to reconsider its decisions that might affect of lakhs of families in the State.

In a memorandum submitted to Dr.Kidwai, the former Haryana Minister of State for Home said that these decisions were bound to cause endless problems to such families and needed to be reviewed immediately.

Referring to the Government's massive campaign to acquire agricultural land in the National Capital Region (NCR) for setting up a special economic zone (25,000 acres), an industrial hub in Faridabad (12,000 acres), an education city in Sonipat (2,500 acres) and an industrial estate in Rohtak (8,000 acres), he said that it was apparent that almost all the fertile land in the NCR would be acquired.

While stating that he was not against industrialisation, he expressed fear that acquisition of all the fertile land might create serious social implications. "The process, when completed, will render a large number of agricultural labourers jobless in Haryana. These families will not get any compensation when the land is acquired. Besides these labourers, there are many more non-agricultural families whose living is also dependent on this land. I regret that the Government has not formulated any plan to provide gainful occupation for these families... I, therefore, seek your intervention to advise the Government to ensure a rehabilitation plan for these families before acquisition of land begins.''

While appreciating the Hooda Government's decision to waive arrears of electricity bills of the rural consumers amounting to Rs. 1,600 crores, Mr.Batra said it would have been better had the Government also given some incentive to the law-abiding urban consumers who were paying their electricity bills regularly. Mr. Batra regretted that instead of providing incentives, the Government seemed determined to humiliate these urban consumers. "If this is not so, then how to justify the Government's decision to shift the electricity meters from within the premises of the urban consumers and install them in the open outside their houses?'' he asked, while asserting that this decision had caused widespread resentment among the urban consumers who were feeling that their integrity had been doubted by the powers that be. He urged the Governor to direct the Government to withdraw these orders.

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