Press Note Eng Dt: 09/06/2011 on Bharuch SEZ

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Press Note                                                                           9^th June, 2011

• Government has initiated moves to acquire highly fertile 452.9859 sq km land of 44 villages of Bharuch district.
• Leader of Opposition will personally hear problems and objections of affected farmers tomorrow June 10.
• In Vagra farmer convention MLA Iqbal Patel and social activists Mahesh Pandya, Chuni Kaka, Rajni Patel and others will join leader of opposition Shaktisinh Gohil.
• To frustrate farmers in raising right issues, necessary documents have been placed on internet in English instead of making them available at office of village panchayat.
• Land acquired at very nominal rate in 1996-97 for GIDC has been given for SEZ to an industrialist.
• Compensation should be given to those whose land was acquired by GIDC at current market prices.
• Government should give compensation and job to farmers
• Government should stop giving away farmers land acquired at very low rates.

Leader of Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil today charged that government has initiated moves to acquire highly fertile 452.9859 sq km land of 44 villages of Bharuch district. For this GPSCRDA has issued a public notice in a highly disguised language for the acquisition of land which includes 23 villages of Vagra taluka and 11 villages of Bharuch taluka of the district on April 13, 2011, he said.

Gohil said that the highly fertile and very costly land was being acquired for the Dahej Special Investment Region just to be given to industrialists at a nominal price. Gohil who has been opposing the move will to meet farmers of 44 villages at Vagra personally to get full idea of the issue and to listen to the grievances of farmers.

To frustrate farmers in raising right issues, necessary documents have been placed on internet in English instead of making them available at office of village panchayat. He said that with ulterior motive government has not put the 700 page document in Gujarati. Keeping farmers in the dark, Chief Minister is trying to give away land to industrialists.

Earlier, government had acquired land of Lakhi and Luvara village of Bharuch district for GIDC estate. But nothing has been done and now the land which was acquired at a low price of Rs 56,000 is being given to SEZ for allocation to industrialists. Bhatt demanded that either the farmers should be given their land back or they should be given compensation after charging prevalent market rate from industrialists.

Gohil pointed out that government acquired land of six villages clubbed as SEZ-I at a very low price and now there is move to acquire fertile land of 45 villages. The six villages whose land has been acquired are Dahej, Jageshwar, Ambeta, Vadia, Suva and Jotva. He said that as per the norm, the government should have provided necessary documents to villagers at village panchayat level and initiated consultation with them. But government has provided 700 page document in English and that too on website.

Not to provide adequate compensation as per market rate and employment to the affected farmers is nothing but their exploitation. To protect the interests of farmers leader of opposition Shaktisinh Gohil, MLA Iqbal Patel, social activists Maheshbhai Pandya, Shri Chunikaka, Shri Rajnibhai and leaders of Congress and farmers and pro-environmentalists will announce programmes to personally listen to farmers woes. If the government will do injustice then the affected local farmers will launch a public agitation.

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