Activist Sagar Rabari will conduct a three-day march beginning November 9 to create awareness about how farmers stand to lose in various town planning (TP) schemes in the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR). According to him, farmers stand to lose about 14,000 hectares of land. The march will reaffirm the stand taken by farmers that they are in opposition to the SIR, come what may.
Rabari claimed that coming up across about 93,000 hectares of land close to the Gulf of Khambhat, the SIR also covers Bhal area, known for its organic wheat, cotton, cumin and gram. Farmers of 22 villages stand to lose extremely fertile land. Rabari told DNA that under the TP schemes of Dholera SIR, farmers will lose 50% of land as margin. "We want to make one thing very clear. Farmers do not want the SIR and will fight it out against the authorities. This is a systematic ploy by the government to snatch away farmers' land and give it to their favourite industrialists," said Rabari.
Rabari said that despite a clear-cut order by the Gujarat High Court, the government has continued to serve notices to farmers regarding acquisition of land. The government tried to survey land but failed miserably. Now, SIR officials, under the guise of convincing farmers to part with their land, are actually threatening them.
"What the government terms as development, will actually bring disaster to the farmers. The government wants farmers to part with their land. So despite land falling under command area of Sardar Sarovar Dam, the government removed them from command area. After sustained protests by farmers, the government was forced to reinclude them in command area," added Rabari.
Rabari will conduct a march for three days to create awareness among farmers regarding the disastrous impact the SIR will have on their livelihood. While he will mobilise farmers, it will also help him understand issues troubling farmers better.
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