District authorities direct RMDD to redress problems imposed on farmer by PMGSY road project

Medh Bahadur Rai stares a wall of debris where he used to have an orange
orchard. There is hope for him still, now that the district authorities have
taken up his case.

SUBASH RAI
GANGTOK, 11 Feb: The East district authorities have endorsed the plight of a farmer [click here for background details] rendered landless and homeless due to unauthorised dumping of road cutting debris on his land at Lower Barbing here below Gangtok.
The Sub-Divisional Magustrate [Gangtok], Dr. AB Karki, following the report published yesterday on this blog [“PMGSY road debris renders farmer landless and without a home”] and upon receipt of a formal complaint from the affected farmer, Medh Bahadur Rai [incorrectly named “Meg” Bahadur Rai in yesterday’s report], today, shot off a letter to the Chief Engineer, Rural Management & Development Department [which supervises all PMGSY projects], informing him of the incident and recording that the complain “seems to be very genuine and vital”.

The CE at RMDD has been directed to “immediately solve the issue and by redressing the grievance of people living in this locality.”
“The sustainable means of road development work may be carried out at the earliest,” the letter adds.
The letter also directs that an action-taken report be submitted to the office of the District Magistrate, East, within a week.
A copy of the letter has also been marked to the Revenue Officer, Acquisition, and a report on the incident sought from him as well.
Following his interactions with NOW! yesterday, Medh Bahadur Rai drafted a complaint letter which village youth took to the area MLA, Menlom Lepcha, after it had been endorsed by the area Panchayat. This was then submitted to the East district authorities and the letter to RMDD desptached, all, laudably within one day.
The affected farmer, it may be recalled, has lost an Orange orchard spread over half a hectare to road debris being dumped on it from above and the unstable situation has rendered him homeless. He is currently residing in a neighbours cowshed along with his two school-going children.