The land acquisition process for the new railway line between Sevagram (Wardha) to Nanded via Yavatmal has been fast tracked, said Land Acquisition Officer Vijay Bhakre here today.
"The District Collector, Land Acquisition Officer and Railway officers have jointly held two separate camps for four villages -- Ghoti, Chaparda, Kalamb and Thalegaon -- in Kalamb tehsil of the district and distributed over Rs 16 crore directly to the farmers for the land acquired for the project," said Bhakre.
The Railway can now float tender for the construction of the track and station at Kalamb as the land acquisition process has been completed, he said.
The land acquisition from Wardha to the border of Yavatmal tehsil is now completed and the land acquisition of Yavatmal tehsil is in progress, Bhakre added.
A total of 125 farmers have been given compensation for the land acquired so far in Kalamb tehsil.
The length of the track made available through the first phase in Yavatmal district is 22.94 kms out of the total length of track till Darwha tehsil border which is 58 kms, informed Bhakre.
There are over 1,100 farmers in the Yavatmal tehsil and the land expected to be acquired is 600 hectares estimated to cost Rs 150 crores, he added.
According to the District Collector Sachindra Pratap Singh, the administration has received clearance under 'Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Rule' and 'Special Railway Project status' to purchase the land at open market rate from the farmers in May 2016 from the Railway Ministry.
"Today we have distributed Rs 16 crore to the 125 farmers of four villages in Kalamb tehsil as compensation against the land admeasuring over 110 hectare at the rate of 4.2 times more than Ready Reckoner rates," Singh said.
Similar camps would be held in every village and the compensation would be distributed directly to the farmers in the near future, said the Collector.
"We are supposed to complete the proceedings in three years. But we could complete the process in 10 months time," Bhakre said.
"We have distributed necessary documents and PAP (Project Affected Person) certificates to the farmers so that they need not come again to the office for the same," he added.
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