Hundreds of farmers from Athi River town whose crops lie on stretch of the land where the Standard Gauge Railway Project is expected to pass will lose their crops without compensation.
Speaking in his office on Wednesday, Athi River Senior Assistant Commissioner, Phylip Lemalasia, said the victims could not be compensated since Kenya Railways do not consider the crops as development.
"It is now clear that those farmers with crops on the stretch of land where the Standard Gauge Railway is expected to pass will not be compensated since the crops are not considered as development," said Lemalasia.
Lemalasia said the Kenya Railways argued that the crops could be harvested to pave way for the project as opposed to buildings, trees and fruits.
According to him, Kenya Railways would only compensate farmers who had trees, crops and buildings on the parcel of land where the project will be implemented.
The commissioner added those owning land in the region had been requested by the Kenya Railways Corporation to provide legal documents confirming the land ownerships for compensation before the project resumes.
Residents of Kwa Mang'eli among other villages around the area where the project had been intended to pass early in June this year demonstrated against the project's contractor, China Road and Bridges Corporation after it allegedly forcefully gained access to their farm land and attempted to destroy crops, vegetables, trees and fruits alongside buildings.
This led to the suspension of the project after intervention of the area MP, Patrick Makau, who ordered that the project be immediately suspended until the victims were constitutionally compensated of the loses they were to incur.
Lemalasia urged the crop farmers to harvest them so as not to incur loses as the project contractor is expected to resume work in the next few weeks