Commissioner of Tirhut division SM Raju (centre) talks to farmers in Raxaul on Monday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Raxaul, May 2: The state government has assigned the task of sorting out problems hindering the construction of the integrated check post (ICP) on the India-Nepal border near Raxaul to the Tirhut division commissioner S.M. Raju.

Raju arrived here on Saturday evening and according to the state government’s order, he would camp here till issues related to the compensation of the acquired farmers were not resolved.

The divisional commissioner visited the ICP site on Sunday with East Champaran district magistrate (DM) Abhijeet Sinha, Raxaul sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Jitendra Sah and others to discuss the issue with farmers.

Farmers from Pantoka, Tumariya Tola, Haraiya, Shripur, Hajma Tola and Ekderwa villages near Raxaul, have been protesting against the irregularity in classification of their land and the subsequent biased compensation offered to them after acquisition.

Irritated over the inordinate delay in the payment of compensation against the acquisition of their cultivable land for the construction of ICP, several hundred farmers along with their family members had demonstrated there on December 2 last year and forcibly stopped the construction work.

The government had acquired nearly 258 acres of the farmers’ land for the construction, foundation of which was laid by Union home minister P. Chidambaram on April 24 last year. Even then a large number of farmers had demonstrated alleging partiality of some officials during the land acquisition and the compensation.

On the occasion, chief minister Nitish Kumar had said: “No farmer would be allowed to remain dissatisfied.” Despite his announcement of “justice to all”, only 95 acres out of 258 were categorised under “A” category.

“This was because of a biased conduct of some people in the administration and the district land acquisition office. Moreover, there was inordinate delay in the payment as well,” said Om Prakash Patel, a farmer.

The Raxaul SDM had informed the district magistrate about the farmers’ protests.

Meanwhile, Raju, who visited the ICP site on Sunday and held a long meeting with the farmers, is confident that the problem would be solved soon. Trouble began when farmers objected to the biased land surveyors.

Raju told The Telegraph: “The errors would be rectified soon and the farmers have agreed to accept the compensation according to the ratio price of the land based on the purchases made in the past three years, according to the provisions under Land Acquisition Act, 2007.”

He said: “The construction work (of the ICP) would be restored soon after resolving all disputes following the formation of a committee that would assist the government officials to re-access the land acquisition pro- cess and the fixation of compensation in that those cases.”

The divisional commissioner added that he would camp at Raxaul till the problem is not sorted out.