Patna: The Bihar government would not tolerate damage to railway property, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday on the torching of the engine and a few
bogies of Gomo-Barkakhana passenger train at Nabinagar in Aurangabad district on Saturday.
The chief minister said the government was sympathetic towards the plight of farmers whose lands were being acquired for setting up the 1980 MW thermal power station and would consider their demands favourably seeking compensation, but none would be spared for damaging railway property.
Stating that he had sought full details from the district administration about the protest, he said farmers were being paid compensation according to government policy for acquiring land for setting up industries and power plants.
Stating that legal action would be taken against the farmers, he said, when the government announced that land would be acquired for the power plant, a few people to hike land prices purchased and sold it which was declared invalid
by the district magistrate.
A few farmers had even moved the Patna High court to stop acquisition of their land but their plea was rejected, he told reporters on the sidelines of his Janata Durbar said.
Kumar said the compensation was always decided on the floor rate which varied from place to place and the government decided to compensate farmers accordingly.
Kumar said as per information received by him the controversy over compensation was for ryati and government land. The government paid compensation for acquiring arable land of farmers and not for government land.
The government was abiding by this compensation policy for acquiring land for setting up the thermal power plant on about 2500 acres, he said.
"Power is a necessity for the state`s development and those opposed to setting up the plant should decide for themselves whether they wanted to live in darkness or an illuminated Bihar."
PTI
