Less than a week after the Haryana government de-notified 1,019 acres of land acquired for the construction of Dadupur-Nalvi irrigation scheme, the outrage among farmer unions and political parties has been intensifying. The state Congress on Sunday backed a protest in Yamunanagar which was led by Haryana Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress, Haryana Kisan Congress and Bhartiya Kisan Union against the de-notification of acquired land for Canal project launched in 1985.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that Haryana’s farmers will give a befitting reply to state government for this alleged ‘treachery’.

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He said the Congress will stand with farmers’ on this issues. He claimed close to one lakh hectare land of 225 villages of Ambala, Yamuna Nagar and Kurukshetra will be deprived of irrigation by this decision. He claimed nearly Rs. 200 crore have been paid in compensation for the land acquired for the project.

“Adding to this, a sum of Rs 111.70 Crore has been spent on construction of the canals. After spending over Rs. 300 crore on restoring the underground water table, the state government is seeking to destroy the entire project on account of its myopic, parochial and anti-farmers approach,” alleged Surjewala.

The senior Congress leader alleged the Chief Minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar led Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government’s move has forced the farmers to face consequences as they will have to spend nearly Rs. 40 lakh per acre in filling up the 58 feet wide and 30feet deep canal which passing through their land.

“The state government wants the farmers to repay entire compensation along with 15 per cent interest annually. This would mean that farmers will have to sell their remaining land or the government will confiscate their property. Unfortunately, present state government does not even know that they have constructed a 10 kilometer road on the land acquired for the canal, besides constructing bridges for the national highway,” he alleged.

The Haryana Cabinet headed by the CM on 27 September approved a proposal of Irrigation and Water Resources Department to de-notify 1,019 acres of land acquired for construction of Dadupur-Nalvi irrigation scheme.The Dadupur-Nalvi canal project was announced during Bansi Lal government in 1985.

It was 2004 when the then CM Om Prakash Chautala laid the foundation stone of the canal project but work was started in 2006, under Bhupinder Singh Hooda government, and in 2008 the same government gave nod for releasing of water in the said canal but it could reach the tail only once.The scheme was initiated for irrigation and recharging of ground water in Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra and Ambala districts.