Sacrificing our agriculture for development

Guess neither Maharashtra nor Gujarat fathomed that acquiring land would be such a problem. Not only this, the central government had a tough time convincing the Maharashtra government to part with some of its prime lands in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) for a terminal station.

The project starts from BKC, where it will be underground, will reach Thane and pass via Vasai and Virar, and then finally move towards Gujarat. The train will be underground in Mumbai, and hence not much land is required in Mumbai but going further towards Thane and Gujarat, it will be above the ground i.e. elevated.

In terms of Maharashtra, the NHSRCL executing the project, it has not even been able to complete the joint measurement survey in around 104 villages where land acquisition will be taking place.

Overall, out of the total 1,434 hectares of land required, both in Gujarat and Maharashtra, mere 3 hectares of private land is acquired as on December 01, 2018. Out of 1,434 hectares, around 1,100 hectares is private land, and remaining 300 hectares is government land, for which acquisition of land is under process with several land pieces already being in possession of NHRSCL.

According to Dhananjay Kumar, spokesperson, NHSRCL, "Some 50 per cent of the villages where we require a survey to be carried out for land acquisition is completed. There are 104 villages in Maharashtra where we require land, of which, survey in 48 villages is completed. In Thane district, a survey is completed in all villages. In case of Mumbai district, four out of total five villages have been surveyed. Lastly, in Palghar district, we have completed the survey in 18 villages out of the total 73 villages."

Kumar added, "We are now communicating with the Sarpanch to connect to the villagers. Earlier, we had gone directly to the villagers but that was not much successful."

Ragunath Suthar of Sakhre village, in Palghar district, said, "We have been residing in the village for four generations now. Suddenly, since 2016, officials from NHSRCL have been visiting us asking us to allow survey our land for the bullet train. Our only concern is — what do we do with the money? We are involved in farming, and any amount of money cannot assure us as much as our fertile land assures us about the future."

Suthar added, "We have suggested various alignments like that of National Highway (NH)-8 from where the bullet train can be taken to prove that we are not against the project but the government is adamant on acquiring our fertile land."

Arun Wanaga, another villager from Dehane village in Palghar, says, "We are an agriculture-oriented community, and any amount of lucrative compensation will not help us. But what is happening with us is force and power along with the police visiting and telling us that we should give our land to the government for a better future for all."

In Thane, the train will pass through 26 villages and graze through the lands of over 200 farmers. A station will be built at Mhatardi over Diva creek which has mangroves around. Farmers from Mhatardi in Diva and neighbouring villages allege they were forced by the authorities to keep their mouths shut during the JMS or say they do not know how much of their land will be lost in this project.

"The rail tracks go through my field. The corporation people came and put the pillars right in the middle of my field," says Kisan Padu Mhatre, 71, whose family owns more than an acre of land in Agasan village. "They say they just need 17 metres of land from my farm and have not told us about the compensation. They just asked for my bank details, Aadhaar card, and Pan card details."

Like Mhatre, nearly 150-200 villagers are angry and confused with the JMS. "Most people do not even know when their lands were surveyed," says Govind Bhagat, president of Aagri Yuva Sanghatna.

The farmers say that if NHSRC wants to take their land then they should pay them 10 times of the 2013-ready reckoner rate.

"Central Gujarat is called the garden of Gujarat. The land is very fertile. I will be losing a part of my land, house and a borewell. Others in the village will also lose land in varying proportions," said Manubhai Chauhan, a farmer in Chhapra village of Mahemdabad taluka of Nadiad district from where the proposed Bullet Train is going to pass.

Farmers like Chauhan say that land is a farmer's asset. It cannot be replaced by monetary compensation. "If money is given to farmers, it will be spent. What is more important is our livelihood," Chauhan told DNA.

Some 48 farmer families in the village are losing land in varying proportions. The village grows paddy, wheat, and vegetables, which give them regular earnings, which will not happen in the case of monetary compensation.

Gujarat Khedut Samaj, which has spearheaded the movement against forcible acquisition of land, is mobilising the farmers to be aware of their rights. "In spite of all the efforts, the government is not able to acquire an inch of a land from farmers in any of the 192 villages," said Jayesh Patel, president of Gujarat Khedut Samaj. He argues that farmers have lost land in projects like Expressway, National Highway, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), and the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). The land is also fertile and known for horticultural crops.

Sagar Rabari, founder president of Gujarat Khedut Samaj, alleges that all industrial or infrastructural projects are proposed on agricultural land. "More than an infrastructure project, this seems to be an exercise by the government to grab natural resources, especially land and water," Rabari said.

And then there are those who are looking forward to the bullet train.

Bhomaram Khorwal, 35, travels twice a week to Ahmedabad from Mumbai. He is a small entrepreneur and is in the shoe business. "I go to Surat and Ahmedabad for work twice a week as most of my clients are there. My one-way commute time is five and a half hours to Surat and nine to 10 hours to Ahmedabad."

He prefers to travel by Surat Intercity express and Suryanagari trains. "I need to travel to upgrade my products and update my clients about them. I also have to collect my dues and the long commute gets tiring," he says.

The news of a bullet train, which will halve his commute time to Gujarat, cheers him up. "If I can reach Ahmedabad in 2 hours and Surat in an hour, then I will expand my business and secure more clients. This will definitely boost my business," he chirps.

(clockwise): A marking done by a team carrying out an aerial survey of an alignment for the construction of the Bullet Train project near Vangaon in Palghar district;  Raghunath Suthar, a villager from Sakhre village in Palghar with his two brothers. Their house and agricultural land will be acquired for the project; The proposed site of Mhatardi station

Villagers’ biggest concern

Arun Wanaga, a villager from the Dehane village in Palghar, says, “We are an agriculture-oriented community, and any amount of lucrative compensation will not help us. But what is happening with us is the misuse of force and power, along with the police visiting and telling us that we should give our land to the government for a better future of all.”