Samruddhi Mahamarg gets boost as first land is acquired
Shinde said he is noting all the reservations raised against the project by farmers.
Mumbai: Maharashtra government on Thursday started the process of acquiring land and giving compensations to farmers for the proposed Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway project connecting Mumbai and Nagpur. The Maharashtra road development minister, Ekanath Shinde handed over cheques of compensation to farmers in Nagpur.
Ram Sahu, a farmer in Nagpur district, became the first in the state to sell his 1.25 hectare land for the project at the cost of around '59 lakh. Mr Shinde, a Shiv Sena leader, signed on the sale deed as a witness in an effort to encourage more farmers to sell their lands for the project.
Ironically, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had, in May 2017, not only met farmer organisations that were agitating against the proposed project assuring absolute support but Sena leaders in Thane and Nashik too later joined the farmers’ protests.
“Shiv Sena and Eknath Shinde have back-stabbed farmers. Uddhav Thackeray has said that the road will not be constructed without taking farmers in confidence but his minister is promoting the road. Whom should we believe? Whose interests are being served by the minister?” asked Baban Harne, convener, Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti, a farmer body formed to protest against the project.
Mr Shinde said he is noting all the reservations raised against the project by farmers. “I have been informing CM Devendra Fadnavis about these issues and I am working towards solving it. We stand with development, but at the same time we believe that no farmer should face injustice,” he said. Mr Shinde added that the state would ensure that every farmer is satisfied first.
Meanwhile, Mr Fadnavis cancelled a special meeting called on Friday with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and farmers to discuss the issues raised by them. In a message conveyed to farmers, the Chief Minister’s Office said that the meeting would now be held after the presidential poll. Sources in the CMO said NDA’s candidate Ram Nath Kovind will visit Mumbai on Saturday and Mr Fadnavis would be busy on Friday.
“Date for presidential poll was given much earlier, but the meeting was still scheduled for Friday. What was so pressing for the CM that he had to cancel it? This is not only an insult to us but also to a senior leader like Sharad Pawar,” said Mr Harne.