FAISALABAD, Sept 5: Scores of villagers of Chak Jhumra whose thousands of acres of land had been acquired for the establishment of a Value Addition City and the Textile Industrial Estate near M-III, are up in arms for payment of their `genuine’ claims.

The Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC), a private entity owned by the Punjab government, has been entrusted with the task of setting up industrial estates in the district near Sahianwala. It comprises 22 board of directors dominated by influential industrialists of the city.

The villagers have demanded reassessment of rates of their outhouses as the company `tactfully cheated’ them by fixing their properties prices below the market value. They are also demanding compensation for their crops and interest for delayed payment.

They have reportedly forced the contractor to stop construction work on the estate and the value addition city till the acceptance of their demands.

The villagers have also staged a protest demonstration in favour of their demands a couple of days ago.

Now they are planning another demonstration to step up their drive against the government and the company.

A government official requesting anonymity told this correspondent that approximately 2,400 acres of land had been acquired in 2005.

“Since the villagers have been cultivating their lands instead of handing over possession to the government, compensation for crops is out of question.”

He said villagers had been getting two crops per annum for the last three years.

As far as the payment of interest was concerned, he said, a meeting had been held under the chairmanship of the district coordination officer before the disbursement of compensation. The meeting had decided that farmers would be given compensation only for buildings and trees after deduction of 30 per cent payment, he said.

“Now after receiving the major amount villagers again have started pressurising the government for more money.”

Taking advantage of the situation, he said the contractor who was already behind schedule, had stopped work on both projects.

The contractor recorded statements of villagers by a video camera to justify his stance on work closure, he said.

Shehzad Khaliq, a representative of villagers, told Dawn that billion of rupees were being spent on the estate but farmers had been deprived of their rights.