Farmers seek Rahul’s help against Rajiv Gandhi's project

Farmers, who are to be displaced by the Rs8,000-crore Gosikhurd irrigation project in Vidarbha, met union water resources minister Pawan Bansal in the parliament house on Thursday.

“We told him that state government officials have threatened to evict us if we do not leave our homes and fields,” Ram Bante, a farmer who led the local action committee, told DNA.

With the Congress talking of an amended land acquisition law, the farmers feel they have hope. “We have been encouraged by the interest that Rahul Gandhi has taken in the rehabilitation of farmers. The Gosikhurd project was launched in 1988 by his father Rajiv. We will seek Rahul’s intervention now,” said Bante, adding that he intended to camp in the national capital to draw the leader’s attention.

Bante added that Bansal promised to take up the matter with the state government. “Our basic demands stand,” he said.

“The compensation should be decided at market rates. We should not be forced to accept the meagre amount of Rs30,000 per acre,” he added. “The rehabilitation package that has been offered to those affected by the adjacent NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) project should be made available to us as well.”