Raipur. In the investigation so far in the land acquisition scam case of Bharatmala Project, information about 150 suspicious people and their 130 bank accounts has been found, which is being investigated thoroughly at this time. The suspects found include people from Mahasamund and Abhanpur. 130 bank accounts of ICICI Bank of Mahasamund have been found. Investigation is on to find out how much money has been transacted through these accounts.
In this scam case, the investigating ACB-EOW raided more than a dozen places within the last 1 month, in which some people have also been arrested. These include Kedar Tiwari and his wife Uma Tiwari, businessman Harmeet Singh Khanuja and Vijay Jain. All of them are in jail on judicial remand. Important documents recovered during the raid and interrogation of several people revealed information about 150 suspects and their accounts. The ACB-EOW has come to know that the compensation amount of the Bharat Mala project came into the accounts of two dozen farmers and this amount was transferred to the account of Harmeet Singh.
What is the compensation scam of Bharatmala project?
Under the Bharatmala project in Chhattisgarh, 950 km of road is being constructed from the capital Raipur to Visakhapatnam. In this project, a four-lane road from Raipur to Visakhapatnam and a six-lane road from Durg to Arang are proposed. For the construction of this road, the government has acquired the land of many farmers. In lieu of this, they have to be compensated, but many farmers have still not received compensation. On the second day of the Assembly Budget Session 2025, Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant raised this issue, after which a decision was taken to investigate the matter.
Under the Land Acquisition Rule 2013, if land worth Rs 5 lakh is taken from the beneficiary, then apart from that price, the same amount i.e. Rs 5 lakh will also be given as solatium. In this way, he will be given Rs 10 lakh as compensation for that land. Under this, if land worth Rs 5 lakh is acquired, then Rs 10 lakh will be given and Rs 10 lakh will be solatium. In this way, the beneficiary will get Rs 20 lakh for the same land.
