C Shivakumar ; ExpressBuzz; Wed, Dec 22, 2010,
PERAMBALUR: In its hurry to acquire land for the Rs 900 crore MRF project at Naranamangalam village in Perambalur, the district administration bulldozed a woman whose husband was working abroad to sign on a written piece of paper in front of the then district collector, Anil Meshram, according to a signed petition from a villager.
“I was summoned by the officials of the collectorate and when I went there the collector wanted me to sign a paper,” alleged Roja, a seventh standard dropout.
The document, which was obtained by her husband M Chandrahassan by invoking the RTI Act, states: “The land belongs to my husband. Since he is abroad, I am willing to sell it to MRF as the neighbours have sold it at a high price. I want additional price for the land as it is the only source for my income. I also want a job for my family members in MRF plant.”
In his petition, Chandrahassan says his wife never agreed to sell the 2.48 acres of land nor had he authorised her to do so. In any case, the paper she signed was illegal as nobody else could sign it on his behalf.
When he was working in Riyadh, collectorate officials summoned his wife and said “MRF wants your land, give it to them.”
She said “my husband is in Riyadh. It will take 18 months for him to return. When he does, I will inform him about it.”
But the authorities were impatient. “If you do not sign, we will invoke the land acquisition Act and acquire the land. If we do that, you won’t get a single paisa,” they warned.
Later, Village Administrative Officer (VAO) Iyaamperumal brought her to the collector’s office. She was forced to sign on a written paper.
When asked what was written on the paper, collector Meshram allegedly refused to explain, said her husband in the petition to the National Human Rights Commission. “I don’t know what was written on it,” she told Express.
Finally, it dawned on the officials that the coerced letter would not stand legal scrutiny as it was not signed by the property owner. So, the government invoked the land acquisition Act to acquire it.
Chandrahassan is yet to get compensation for the land and is now back in Perambalur without a job. “I used to grow drumstick, ladies finger and other vegetables. But now we don’t have land. I don’t want compensation. I want my land back. It provided us with social security,” he added.
In a separate incident, another woman was allegedly threatened by real estate officials and a letter was sent to her husband Thangaraj working abroad to sign documents.
“I was afraid since my wife was all alone in the village, so I acceded to their request. The real estate agents used to hound her every day.”
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