Krishnagar, Sept. 13: The proposal to widen National Highway 34 has hit a bump with Trinamul Congress boycotting an all-party meeting today to discuss the plan.

The meeting was called by PWD minister Kshiti Goswami in Krishnagar. But Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee said in Calcutta that her party’s policy was not to cooperate in any project if acquisition of agricultural land was involved. “We can’t compromise on this issue,” she said.

The plan is to make the highway four-lane from Barasat to Dalkhola, about 450km from Calcutta. The 140km stretch that has run into rough weather is between North 24-Parganas and Nadia. The highway is two-lane now.

Trinamul’s Nadia unit has also decided to block the eviction of encroachers if they are not given compensation. At several places the highway has narrowed because shops have come up on both sides.

But Goswami said under government rules, encroachers cannot be compensated, only land-losers can.

According to land department officials, approximately 3,000 acres would have to be acquired for the widening along the stretch. Some of it will be farmland. Whether the farmland that will be acquired is multi-crop would be clear only after a survey.

Goswami said the survey from Murshidabad to Dalkhola was done. But in Nadia and North 24-Parganas, the survey could not start as villagers chased away the survey teams.

Festival truce

The Bhoomi Uchchhed Pratirodh Committee today asked police to ensure that peace prevails in Nandigram and nearby areas as the festival season was near. They said DIG N. Ramesh Babu had assured them all steps would be taken to prevent violence.