Mohali, April 26
It’s all about money, honey… goes the song. And for the 200-odd villagers who gathered outside the SDM’s office here this afternoon nothing could have been truer.
These simply dressed marginal farmers from Jherorheri village, most of who came in buses from the village, went back with crores under their belt today. With a whopping compensation amount of Rs 1.5 crore announced for each acre of their land, at least 200 families of the village have turned millionaires overnight.
As the villagers waited their turn to get the cheques which were going to change their lives forever, they were swarmed by bankers, property dealers and car dealers who have not left the villagers alone ever since the award was announced.
Senior officers of some leading banks in India were seen serving water and cold drinks to these farmers who were almost embarrassed by all the attention they were getting. Slick-talking young marketing agents from car companies were also trying their best to woo these farmers to buy their first cars from them.
Used to marketing in English while dealing with the city-bred rich, the car agents could barely get their point across to their new found uneducated target group.
The competition was tough, but as the bankers and dearlers reasilsed, so were the villagers.
“We are sick of property dealers. Please write-- property dealers, please excuse,” said one of the four brothers who have in total got about Rs 30 crore. “We are simple, but not foolish. We know what we have to do with our money,” he said.
The villagers who have all their lives worked in fields or tended to cattle are looking forward to a life where every desire seems to be just a few lakhs away. “I want to buy a BMW. I will not study anymore,” said Amarinder Singh, teenaged son of Kishan Singh.
Though the younger of the lot were barely able to contain their happiness, restlessly moving about busy finalising their wish list, the older ones showed immense grace in accepting the change of fate. “We are sad internally. Land is like a mother for a farmer. And for us, it is our home and hearth. We are gong to buy land in another area but then home is where the heart is and our heart will always remain here,” said an emotional Randhir Singh.
Some others were already showing signs of apprehension that comes with big money. “Please do not publish my name. What if someone kidnaps our children for all this money?” said one.
Many were, however happy to share their wish list. “A kothi in Chandigarh is first priority. A showroom in Mohali from where I can get rental income. And a large piece of land where I can carry on farming. My son has done graduation and he can now leave studies and help me,” said Jarnail Singh.
Over 300 acres of the village have been acquired by the government for the setting up of the international airport. The whopping compensation amount is the highest ever paid for acquisition by the any government in the region if not in India.
Majority of the landowners here own small holdings of land but even the owner of about eight acres of land Prem Singh walked away with a whopping Rs 11.5 crore and looked amused when cameras clicked away the ‘instant crorepati’ accepting the cheque from the land acquisition officer. While two others got more than Rs 10 crore, there were single families with three or four brothers who have got rich overnight by over Rs 25
crore.
