The National Highways Authority of Indias (NHAI) fourlane project on National Highway 21 has sparked protests in the Mandi and Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh. The local landowners, shopkeepers and farmers have demanded fair compensation for the land acquisition under the 84.83kilometre Kiratpur to Ner Chowk fourlane project, affecting forest and nonforest land. The project work started in 2013. In Mandi, the affected persons have collected under the banner of Fourlane Sangharsh Samiti to put forward their demands. Since, they have continued to protest, submitted memorandums, and filed court cases. Similarly, in Bilaspur, the Four Lane Visthapit and Prabhavit Samiti are representing the affected persons. In 2016, the head of the Samiti claimed that the state did not compensate over 10,000 projectaffected farmers. The affected families are concerned about the low compensation rates offered, delay in compensation, and the loss of livelihoods due to the acquisition of their commercial, agricultural, and residential lands. The president of the Samiti in Mandi, retired army officer Khushal Thakur, has also claimed that the state government is violating the LARR 2013 Act. As per a news report, the state government has applied "factor one" to the compensation rates, while the party manifesto at the time of the state election in 2017 had promised to apply "factor two", which would increase the compensation rates fourtimes the market value. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister assured that the government was contemplating over granting "factor two". In July 2018, a news report stated that due to displacement, almost 90 per cent of the market in four of these villages, namely Thalot, Aut, Panasra and Dador, would be wiped off. Another news article reported that the project led to the displacement of 350 families without compensation, though the award was announced in January 2018 itself. It also stated that the delay in construction was adding to the woes of the displaced. In January 2019, the state government also set up a subcommittee to address the problem of compensation. Meanwhile, the Four Lane Visthapit and Prabhavit Samiti, complained that NHAI was attempting to divert 75 Ha of forest land illegally and had dumped muck in the forest. Following this, the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change launched an inquiry into the issue. In June 2020, the Ministry paused the project after finding the authority violation of the original plan. Subsequently, the district administrations were directed to take up an inquiry. In December, the Samitis head claimed that NHAI had still not removed the muck. The locals have also raised concerns about the poor conditions of the roads under construction as it is a landslideprone region. The work has only partially resumed since. In March 2021, the inquiries on the irregularities were still ongoing. The project was supposed to complete in September 2021 after multiple delays. However, according to a news report, the project is now proposed to finish in March 2022 with increased costs as a consequence of the new expansion plan for two tunnels and the restrictions imposed by the lockdown. Meanwhile, the affected in the two districts continue to demand fair compensation.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Complaint against procedural violations
Demand for more compensation than promised
Demand for compensation
Demand for rehabilitation
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Both
Forest and Non-Forest
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
2291
Type of investment:
Cost of Project
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Land Acquisition Laws, Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Delay in compensation
Controversial land acquisition by the government
Non-implementation/violation of LARR Act
Non-payment of compensation/promised compensation
Incorrect estimation of compensation
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Himachal Pradesh High Court
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
No
Reported Details of the Violation:
Demolition of houses without compensation
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Himachal Pradesh
Kumar Sambhav is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist, leading innovative research in accountability investigations. He is the founder of Land Conflict Watch and is currently working as India Research Lead with Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.
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