Army fails to compensate farmers
Tribune News Service

Dagwar Tervaan-Near LoC (Poonch), March 17
Leave aside hike in rent that the defence ministry is studying for private lands under its occupation, the Army has even failed to fully compensate farmers whose land was mined after the Kargil war.

Majority of the villagers here whose sole occupation for sustenance is farming said even as the defence ministry might be contemplating to hike the rent of the private lands but it had failed to give them full compensation for the land under mines after the Kargil war. They allege that though the army compensated them for the initial two years after 2003 for mining their land after the Kargil war but it has not paid the compensation after that and their land still remains mined.

"Though up to two years (till 2005) after our land was mined the Army gave us the compensation since we couldn't do farming on the land. After that they never compensated us and even have not demined our land", complained Muhammad Sharief whose 20 kanal lands are mined. "Since they have not demined our land, we cannot do farming on it. Our survival has become a question mark", he added. He further said repeated representations to the administration had failed to yield results as they passed the buck to the army authorities.

Another villager, Muhammad Din, whose 12 kanal lands still remain mined, lost one of his legs in the mine blast shares the feelings of Muhammad Sharief. "Sahib, the Army didn't compensate us for the past about three years. Since farming is our sole occupation for earning bread and butter, our survival has become difficult.They are not de-mining the land nor are paying the compensation", said Din, whose son Muhammad Hanief the only other male member too lost his leg in a mine blast while he was cutting grass.

Defence spokesman Lt-Col S.D.Goswami told The Tribune on phone from Jammu that the army authorities were in constant touch with the civil administration on the matter. "The compensation would be paid through the civil administration as per the merit of the case,” the spokesperson said.

However though none of the senior officers commented on the issue, but sources in the civil administration said that the army has not taken up the matter of compensation to these farmers whose land has been mined.