Petition challenges land acquisition in 11 Bhavnagar villages

A special civil application in the Gujarat High Court has challenged the state government's move to 'forcibly' acquire land from farmers of 11 villages in Bhavnagar district. The petition filed by one Jankidas Kilavat, a farmer in Padva village of Ghogha taluka in Bhavnagar, states that the government is forcefully trying to acquire land that rightfully belongs to them.

The case pertains to land acquisition done in 1997 for Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd in 1997 for which farmers were also given compensation. But the possession of land was never taken and the farmers continued to till the land. In the last week of January 2018, the collector called for a meeting of farmers, asking them to vacate the land.

The farmers opposed the acquisition on the grounds that the New Land Acquisition Act, 2013 states that where land was acquired and consent awards were passed in the year 19970 to 2001 but no physical possession was taken in such a scenario the land was to be returned to the landowners.

The petition has argued that in this particular case though the land was acquired 20 years ago the possession was never taken and farmers continued to till the land.

The petition further argues in a scenario wherein awards were passed five years or prior to the commencement of the Act of 2013 then the land will be returned to the landowners if either compensation is not paid or physical possession is not taken It should be noted that 13 such similar petitions have been filed by several farmer landowners including 93 farmers of Badi and other villages too.