Chhattisgarh’s proposed new capital, Naya Raipur —planned to be developed by the end of 2009 at the cost of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore—is facing trouble even before the first brick of the ambitious new city has been laid. Threatening agitation, the villagers—whose land were acquired for the proposed city—have demanded a higher compensation package. The city requires 8,000 hectares and the land acquisition process is yet to be completed. The work on construction of road network and Government buildings—scheduled to begin last year—has already been delayed.The villagers have demanded Rs 25-30 lakh per acre land acquisition rate. Sarpanch of Rakhi Village, Krishna Kumar Sahu, is leading the demand for a raised compensation package for the affected villagers. “The land acquisition rate—at Rs 5.9 lakh per acre —offered to the villagers is less than one-third of the prevailing market price. We have submitted a memorandum of demands to the Government for more compensation for our land and residential plots in the proposed new city,” he said.Even the local Congress legislator Satyanarayan Sharma has decided to oppose the construction of a new capital, unless the Government declares an increased land acquisition rate and one plot each to villagers affected by the project. “The new capital can’t be developed at the cost of local residents. These people have to be adequately compensated or else we will launch an agitation against the project,” said Sharma.However, official sources said 90 per cent of the villagers had settled their claims and there was no question of increasing the rate of land acquisition. “The compensation package had been decided after discussions with the villagers. Three criteria—prevailing market rate, three years output of land, location of land—were considered before deciding the compensation package,” the sources clarified.Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has, however, assured the local residents that their demands would be looked into properly. “The Government will make sure that each displaced person is compensated adequately,” he said.The Naya Raipur development plan is an ambitious project aimed at shifting the administrative headquarters from Raipur, which was christened capital in a haste after the state was carved out in November 2000. The plan aims to shift the capital to a well planned town with an an infrastructure that can handle the demands of a growing city. The Master Plan for the city’s development is being prepared in consultation with School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, and City and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Navi Mumbai. The new city will have an Information Technology SEZ, a gems and jewellery SEZ, a state-of-the-art convention centre, parks and integrated residential townships.
