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• You may call it the Singur effect if you like. Taking a cue from Mamata Banerjee's land stir in Singur, farmers on either side of the 60-km NH-35 stretch that connects the Indo-Bangla border post at Bongaon with Barasat in North 24-Parganas have refused to part with their land. This despite the green light from Mamata for acquisition for government projects such as expansion of highways and railway network.The farmer's defiance might finally force the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to abandon the project.The disgruntled farmers have been holding on to their farmland for the last two years since 2009 when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government sent the Rs 300-crore road widening proposal to the Centre, given the international importance of the highway that is being looked after by the highway wing of the state public works department.
• Since then, the NHAI has been trying to acquire land on either side of NH-35 that has been encroached upon at places, giving it the shape of an ordinary road. But on Wednesday, project director Kolkata Anil Dixit said it was not possible for the highways authority to implement the project due to land problems.The NHAI hit a road block months after it engaged a professional firm to do the feasibility study almost a year ago. Farmers made it loud and clear that they are not going to part with their farmland unless the government comes up with a comprehensive compensation package. However, the existing National Highway Authority Act, does not have any provision for compensation other than the price of the land fixed by the Centre. The Act provides that the landowner has to give up the possession of his land within 60 days of the service of the notice. Not only that, it empowers the appropriate authority to enter the land and start work. NHAI officials couldn't act accordingly fearing trouble.
• "The original plan was to make the NH-35 four-lane from two-lane now. But the project was hit by land acquisition problems. We had appointed an agency, ICT, to do the feasibility study almost a year back. They have come out with the report that we cannot make a four-lane highway over there. It can be two-lane," the NHAI Kolkata project director said.So, the NHAI project director has decided to pull out of the project and communicate the decision to the Centre. There is a technical reason for the NHAI decision. The expansion project of NH 35 comes under the National Highways Development Programme (Phase III), which involves "four-laning" of highways. But NHAI is not getting enough space for that can participate in the road widening work for a minimum four-lane expansion, and not below that. The Authority is not getting the minimum 45 metre depth in regard to MH35 to make it a four-lane highway.
• Locals said land is the only asset of the farmers of that area and they can hand it over only if the government comes up with a proper compensation package. "The farmers might give up their land only if the government offers a satisfactory compensation packageare not willing to hand over their land at any cost, because it is their only asset. Only if the government discuss the matter and come up with a satisfactory compensation package that the farmers can consider of giving up their land," said Abdul Rahim, a trader and resident of Kadambagachi - 7 km from Barasat. He is also involved with various social activities in that area.Villagers, however, admitted that traffic pressure on the NH-35 has increased manifold over the last few years and that massive traffic congestion was occurring daily at Habra and Asoknagar junctions on the highway.

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