DAMAK, Aug 4: Though the government has already approved Chinese investment of Rs 64 billion to construct Nepal-China Friendship Industrial Park, it is not sure that the park will be constructed.
As the landlords are not in consensus about the use of their lands, the construction work is still unsure. Some of the landlords have not accepted the compensation amount stating that the amount is too low.
According to Sanjay Thapa from Industrial Zone
Management Limited, 117 landlords have received Rs 120.7 million till now. The compensation has been distributed according to the recommendation from a committee formed under the coordination of the Chief District Officer. The landlords had given an application for receiving the compensation.
Dispute on compensation for industrial park in Damak
The District Administration Office has classified the land into three kinds: cultivable land, riverside land and land occupied by bushes. Compensation of Rs 2.2 million has been approved for a bigha of cultivable land, Rs 800,000 for land occupied by bushes, and Rs 200,000 for riverside land. The government has provided Rs 430.44 million for compensation distribution.
The government has distributed the compensation to the landlords of Damak Municipality, Gauradaha Municipality, and Kamal Rural Municipality. However, landlords of 61 units of land have not been identified.
“We will recommend them through an official paper only after the identity of landlord is clear, otherwise that will be the land of the government,” said Thapa.
Nanda Kishore Basnet, chief of the Industrial Zone Management Limited, said that the construction work will begin by mid-December in 500 bigha land of Jharka in Kamal-7.
However, the landlords of Kamal-7 have said that the government's intention is to capture their land. “No paper has mentioned that the land is taken for the establishment of the Industrial Park. This might be a strategy of the government to buy the land for cheap," said Karan Singh Karki, secretary of Industrial Estate Struggle Committee.
The landlords have claimed that the recommended compensation amount is less the government valuation of their land. “A compensation of Rs 200,000 per bigha is recommended. However, government rate is Rs 700,000 per bigha,” said Parshuram Karki, coordinator of the committee. He said that the committee was not against development, and added that "the government should do justice to its citizens."
Meanwhile, Basnet said that the compensation amount has been decided according to the Land Acquisition Act.
The funding for the Industrial Park comes under the Chinese government's 'One Belt One Road' initiative. Investments will be made by Lhasa Economic and Technical Department and John Xingping Creation Construction Company.
