Peasants, Navy dispute over British era land
Now minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamare has called a meeting on June 29 to address the claims.
Mumbai: The farmers, who turned violent in few villages of Kalyan and Thane on Thursday, were protesting against acquisition of land by the Indian Navy. The protest sparked off when the Navy began fencing the land, which the farmers claim is illegal. However, Navy officials claim that it belongs to them and the process of acquisition was according to law. Now minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamare has called a meeting on June 29 to address the claims.
The Navy began fencing the land, which covers an area of almost 1670 acres across 14 villages in Newali, Bhal, and the other 12 in the Kalyan rural area. It is claiming that this land was acquired by the British government in 1942 when the second World War was at its peak. The British Navy built an airstrip in Newali village to fuel its fighter planes. But after 1945, airstrip has been lying unused and the Navy seemed to have forgotten about it.
But when discussions over a new airport for Mumbai started, this airstrip shot into limelight. Last year, when land acquisition issues over Navi Mumbai airport were still to be resolved, union aviation minister Gajpati Raju visited the site. It is believed that the Navy learned of the land after the minister’s visit.
However, the farmers are claiming that they have a letter from the British government dating back to 1942, in which it assures them that they would use the land only for the duration of the war. After the war, it would be returned to the original owners. “This letter proves our claim that the Navy has nothing to do with this land. Now it wants to grab the land,” said local protestor Mathur Mhatre.
Following the violence on Thursday morning, guardian minister Eknath Shinde and local MP Shrikant Shinde reached out to the protestors, requesting them to maintain peace. Mr Shrikant also got in touch with Mr Bhamare to resolve the issue.
1942: British Government acquired land and built an airstrip to fuel its fighter planes in wartime.
2017: Navy started reclaiming the land