Even as villagers of Hazira are opposing plans that would take away their homes and lands for the proposed emergency escape route, villagers in Mangrol taluka are engaged in a similar battle.
Even as villagers of Hazira are opposing plans that would take away their homes and lands for the proposed emergency escape route, villagers in Mangrol taluka are
engaged in a similar battle. The only difference is that while Hazira villagers are totally opposed to give away their land, their counterparts in Mangrol are seeking higher compensation for their land.
The Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited, a state government owned company, wants to acquire 700 hectare land in Mangrol taluka, around 45 km from Surat city, for setting up a 500 MW power plant. The site is 12 km from Nani Naroli, where GIPCL already runs a 250 MW power plant. The capacity of this plant is also being hiked to 500 MW. The lignite mine at Tadkeshwar is also only a few kilometers from the area.
The land in dispute is spread over Mangrol, Mosali, Harsani, Timberwa, Bhilwada, Nani Pardi and Amandera villages. Around 250 villagers will have to give up their land for the project. While villagers are not opposed to handing over their land to GIPCL, they say that the price offered by the company is very less and not acceptable.
“The GIPCL is offering us Rs5 lakh to 6 lakh per hectare, which is much below the prevailing market price. If the company wants our land, it should compensate us properly and adequately,” Mahesh Patel, a local villager, said.
The villagers started complaining of inadequate compensation when Gujarat Gokul Power Limited (GGPL), which plans to set up a 135 MW power plant in the area, allegedly paid compensation ranging from Rs25 lakh - 30 lakh per hectare.
Interestingly, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, another state government enterprise, is one of the joint venture partners in GGPL. “Gujarat Gokul Power, GIPCL should also offer compensation in tune with market price. We will not part with our lands if we are not given the right price,” ex-minister Raman Chaudhary, said.
Chaudhary is also president of Mangrol Taluka Hitrakshak Samiti, which is spearheading the agitation against what it describes as unjust compensation being offered to farmers by GIPCL. The villagers have said that they will stage protests over the issue at Mangrol on Monday. However, GIPCL officials defend the compensation offered to the farmers.
“The price we are offering to farmers for their land is 7 to 8 times the government rate. It is not right on part of villagers to say that compensation is inadequate,” a senior GIPCL official said. Shabbir Jada, vice-president of the Samiti, said that besides paying higher compensation to villagers, GIPCL should also give jobs to land losers. He alleged that residents are not getting jobs in GIPCL, even though it is a government-owned company.
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