Photo Courtesy: nenow
Shillong: The Meghalaya High Court ordered state and union authorities to pay compensation to South West Garo Hills landowners within three months. This ruling forces a resolution for property acquired for the Indo-Bangladesh border fence. Payments have stalled since 2018. The government took the land but kept the cash.
Justice B. Bhattacharjee slammed the delay as an abuse of authority. Officials finalized draft awards years ago but never cut the checks. Private citizens cannot wait indefinitely for payment while the government holds their property without a legal basis. Justice Bhattacharjee stated, "The government cannot take control of private land and leave the owners waiting for compensation for several years without a legally justified reason."
The project began in 2017 and 2018 under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013. Landowners filed a formal petition after years of unanswered requests for their money. The court rejected excuses about administrative squabbles between state and union agencies. Authorities must now settle these disputes and pay up immediately.
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