Bhagalpur, Feb. 2: The plan to renovate and beautify the partially excavated site of the ancient Vikramshila World University has hit a roadblock.

The Bhagalpur administration, on behalf of the state government, yesterday filed a counter affidavit in Patna High Court against a writ petition filed by farmers in protest against the proposed land acquisition procedure for the renovation project. The farmers from Antichowk panchayat, whose land was to be acquired, had filed the petition in January.

District land acquisition officer N.K. Jha told The Telegraph: “We have filed a counter affidavit with the high court on February 1. Since the matter now comes under the court’s preview, we can’t say anything.”

According to Jha, the state government’s proposal to acquire land under Sections 7 and 17 of the Land Acquisition Act has now become ineffective since the matter is in court. He added that the fate of the acquisition process hangs in balance till the court comes up with a “favourable” verdict.

Earlier, the government had approved the proposal of the district administration on behalf of the state’s art and cultural department to acquire over 9.83 acres of land in the vicinity of the excavated site of Vikramshila Mahavihara, located 48km from the Bhagalpur district headquarters at Kahalgaon sub-division. The aim was to establish more tourism facilities such as tourist marts in the proposed land.

The 9.83 acres of cultivated land of 22 farmers at Antichowk was identified by the district administration. The government had in 2011 sent Rs 2.64 crore to the administration for the farmers as compensation against their land. But soon after the notification of the land-acquiring process was issued last year, the farmers opposed it under Section 9 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, before the district land acquisition officer.

Anil Kumar, a farmer and a petitioner, said they were not satisfied with the “sudden decision” of the local administration, which demarcated their land for acquisition. “Why only take our land when there were several other plots available in the vicinity of Vikramshila Mahavihara?” he asked.

Another farmer, who did not wish to be quoted, said the tillers have to depend only on their ancestral land to eke out a living since there is no other income-generating avenue in the village. “What do you mean by compensation? The people of the region, who had earlier handed over their land to National Thermal Power Corporation, are still starving,” the farmer said.