2,500 Houses In 30 Days? Highway Fuels ‘Compensation Boom’ In Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: 

Work on highway construction has suddenly disrupted the tranquil landscape in Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, but not in the way you would think. As the Singrauli-Prayagraj highway begins to snake its way through 33 villages in the district, green fields are undergoing a metamorphosis and, in almost no time at all, nearly 2,500 new “houses” have sprung up in the proposed path.

The reason? Having a house built on farmland bumps up the compensation significantly compared to the payout for the land itself. The new structures popping up on farms, however, are often just four-foot high walls – too short even for children – topped with a tin roof.

And, in what is now being called a “compensation industry” locally, these structures are allegedly being built in connivance with local officials and brokers, who will get a lion’s share of the cut, despite a ban on new construction or land deals in the areas earmarked for compensation after a survey in March. The administration has now said no compensation will be given for the new houses.