Maha farmers oppose bullet train project, want compensation details
farmers in Diva have opposed the bullet train project proposed between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
They alleged that none of them whose land will be taken away were taken into confidence before the survey was started in Diva.
The farmers are planning to meet the district collector in next two weeks to find out the amount of compensation they will receive for giving away their land.
The bullet train will pass through a number of villages in Diva, including Agasan, Betawade, Mhatardi, Desai, Padle, Dativali and Dawle.
The farmers had claimed that around 300 acres of their land will be acquired by the state government for the bullet train project.
Chintamani Munde, a farmer who has six acres of farm land in Diva, said, “The officials began the survey for bullet train in February. However, none of the farmers were taken into confidence. We were clueless about the fact that the train is passing through our land in Diva. This led to panic among hundreds of farmers whose land was surveyed for the project. We are opposing the project till the government tells us the compensation we will get in exchange for our land.”
Diva is mostly known to have paddy farms.
Munde said that there are already two roads planned in the Development Plan (DP) by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) in Diva, which will displace the farmers.
Moreover, many plots are reserved for developmental projects.
“With this new project, the farmers will have no land left at all,”he said.
Rohidas Munde, president of Agasan village Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said, “We are not against development, but we should get adequate compensation. Most of the farmers depend on these paddy farms for their livelihood. Our organisation met the collector two weeks ago, seeking information on compensation.”
“However, we did not receive proper answers. Even if they give us money as per ready reckoner, it won’t be enough as development in Diva is stalled owing to Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, thus ready reckoner prices are low in the area,” he added.
The farmers will be meeting the collector again in the coming two weeks to find out more about the compensation and the project.
A total of 108 villages from Thane and Palghar district will be affected by this project.
An officer from collector’s office said, “We will meet the farmers and resolve all their fears. All of them will get the compensation they deserve. The protest will soon end.”
THANE:The