Court enhances compensation to Narmada dam displaced
a district court of Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh has awarded Rs 1.3 crore as compensation to a family ousted from Harsud, a trading town submerged by the Indira Sagar dam built on Narmada river in 2004. In a judgement dated March 18, the court ordered the state to pay the family of Dagdulal Jain Rs 84 lakh as compensation along with an interest of Rs 45.30 lakh, calculated from April 9, 2004.
The compensation will be shared by Jain’s wife Chotibai and seven children. The family was originally given a compensation of Rs 33 lakh against 17.6 hectares (ha) land acquired for the dam project of which 0.96 ha was in the town and used for commercial activity. “My father died of shock when he came to know of the compensation amount on March 18, 2004,” said Dharamraj, son of Dagdulal Jain. The original compensation was calculated on the basis of land rates prevalent in 1912-13 and most of the diverted land was erroneously classified as agricultural that carries less compensation, said Jain.
The Jains said about 50 of the 800 families of Harsud who moved court have been awarded enhanced compensation. The Jains won the largest sum as compensation.
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