There is a problem of land acquisition and compensation in Shivhar-Sitamarhi railway project. Of the total 160 acres, 98 acres of land has been acquired, while payment of several ryots is pending. MP Lovely Anand raised the matter in the Lok Sabha.
Shivhar: The pace of Sheohar-Sitamarhi special railway project has slowed down due to the process of land acquisition and compensation. Of the 160 acres of land acquired for the project, 98 acres have been acquired so far. Compensation has not been paid to many tenants. MP Lovely Anand raised the issue of the progress of the project in the Lok Sabha on 12 August.
Slow pace of land acquisition becomes a major obstacle
More than three years have passed since the Shivhar-Sitamarhi railway project was approved, but the land acquisition process has not been completed. According to the reply given by the Railway Minister in the Lok Sabha, a total of 160 acres of land is to be acquired for the project, out of which 98 acres of land has been acquired so far.
Under the project, construction of a more than 600 meter long bridge on the Bagmati river is also proposed. Construction of a 610 meter long bridge with 12 spans was started at Dubbaghat, but the work had to be stopped due to floods. The bridge construction work here was being done by an agency named Durga Krishna Store of Guwahati.
Payment of 579 ryots still pending
In response to the information sought through RTI by social activist Mukund Prakash Mishra, the District Public Information Officer cum District Land Acquisition Officer gave details related to the payment on August 13.
According to this, till now 215 Panchayats have been paid, while the payment of 579 Panchayats is said to be pending. According to the detailed data related to the project, till now payment has been made to 338 Khesra tenants.
A total of 1,037 khesras of land is to be acquired in Sheohar district, including 1,015 khesras and 22 khesras of Bihar government land. Of these, 338 khesra ryots have been paid, while payment for 677 khesra ryots is pending.
Till now, Rs 99 crore 14 lakh 79 thousand 835 have been distributed as compensation. In some cases, the process has not been able to proceed due to land division, title suits and hold on payments.
Many big constructions in 28 kilometer long railway line
The Sheohar-Sitamarhi railway project also has a long history. In the year 2007, the Motihari-Sheohar-Sitamarhi rail project was approved, but the work could not progress beyond the survey. After this, social activist Mukund Prakash Mishra had filed a public interest litigation in the Patna High Court.
In March 2023, the then MP Rama Devi had informed about getting the 28 km long special rail project approved and Rs 657 crore allocated. After this the foundation stone of the project was also laid.
13 major bridges, 62 culverts and six road overbridges are to be built in the proposed railway section. The process of acquiring a total of 184.61617 acres of land for the project has also been announced.
Objection of some ryots regarding compensation
Some tenants have refused to take compensation, raising questions about the nature of the land. Matters related to this are pending before the railway authority. At the same time, in some land related matters, payment is stuck due to division and title dispute.
The district administration has said that efforts will be made to resolve these matters. MP Lovely Anand has also raised the issue of the status of the project in the Lok Sabha.
According to social activist Mukund Prakash Mishra, in response to RTI, the Railways had said that the project would be completed by January 2027. However, looking at the current situation, questions are being raised regarding the deadline for land acquisition, compensation payment and slow pace of construction work.