LAHORE: The PML-N will take the ‘seizing’ of farmers land by the government for the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project to a legal forum to redress their grievances.

“The PTI government is seizing the land of the farmers in the River Ravi project to benefit the mafia and the friends of Imran Khan. The government is forcibly acquiring 1,300 marlas against Rs200,000 [per acre] which is oppression of the farmers,” PML-N Punjab information secretary Azma Bokhari said.

Talking to reporters here on Monday, Ms Bokhari said the PML-N would take this matter to a legal forum to redress the grievances of the affected people and also hold protest in and outside the Punjab Assembly against this illegal act of the government.

Last week, a number of farmers allegedly attacked a revenue department team for announcing meager rates of the land being acquired for the mega project.

“We reject the rate of Rs200,000 per acre located in the riverbed. The rates of the land other than the riverbed has been fixed Rs1.35 million per acre, which is nothing,” a farmer Nazir Awan had said.

The aggrieved farmers said they asked the government to give them reasonable price for their land. “If the government wants to develop housing projects on our land, it must talk to us and give us the market rates,’ they demanded.

According to the land acquisition award, the government has fixed Rs200,000 to Rs2.3 million per acre rates depending on the location of land falling in the mauzas of Riyanagar Kalan, Chauhan, Dhanoiya, Shedowal, Babakwal, Jada, Qadiyan, Rasoolpur, Khairdinpur, Ayanagar Khurd, Nirapur, Ratanwal and Kachi Kotli.

Ms Bokhari said the PML-N was standing with the farmers and urged the institutions to take notice of this act and don’t let the government seize the farmers’ land for a meager price.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2021