Thirteen poor families, most of them belonging to the Scheduled Castes and residing in the Bhaniad ward of Bhali gram panchayat in the Jawali Assembly constituency, have been running from pillar to post seeking compensation for extensive damage caused to their houses due to alleged unscientific, reckless and vertical hill cutting at around 90-degree angle a few metres from their residential areas during the construction of the Pathankot-Mandi highway four-lane project.
These families have been protesting against vertical hill cutting just 2 metres to 5 metres from their houses by a road construction company engaged by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) but their concerns have been ignored.
Now, their structures have been declared unsafe, forcing them to live under the constant threat of house collapse.
The issue of the constant threat of landslides following vertical hill cutting looming large on the houses of these hapless families was highlighted in The Tribune on July 13 last year.
Kangra MP Rajiv Bhardwaj, along with the Project Director of the NHAI, Palampur, had visited the affected village. A joint inspection team led by the SDM, Jawali, and comprising Public Works Department (PWD) and NHAI officials had inspected the inhabited area and took stock of the houses that had developed cracks in walls and roofs.
The victims were assured of compensation after the PWD assessed the estimated losses.
After the joint inspection, at the behest of the SDM, the PWD assessed the estimated cost of the houses of 13 families at over Rs 1.25 crore and submitted a detailed report to the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, and the Project Director, NHAI, Palampur, on July 15 last year for the disbursement of compensation to the affected families.
The SDM, who is also the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) designated by the NHAI, in his report on estimated loss had clearly mentioned that 13 houses faced danger and a mishap could happen at any time (a copy of the report is with The Tribune).
A visit to Bhaniad village, where hills have been cut for the four-lane highway, reveals that three houses have been fully damaged and their owners are living in rented rooms while the remaining 10 families are still residing in unsafe dilapidated houses under the constant threat of a tragedy.
Affected persons Aman, Harbans, Surinder, Mahinder, Khushi Ram, Charan, Rakesh, Krishan, Dev Raj, Raj Kumar, Prem Dass and Dalbeer Mohammad have submitted a signed memorandum to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday and demanded a high-level probe into the faulty hill cutting in their village that had rendered them homeless after massive cracks appeared in their houses.
They expressed anguish over the inhuman and insensitive approach of the NHAI and the road construction company that had jeopardised their lives with 90-degree hill cutting near their residential areas.
The victims also sought the immediate disbursal of the assessed compensation – the affected families were assured of relief disbursal within a fortnight but they got nothing even after six months.