Sharad Pawar to take part in expressway stir

Mumbai: Protests against land acquisition for the expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur are likely to intensify. Organisations representing farmers who are likely to lose their land due to the project are planning to unite and raise their voices against the project. Interestingly, it is being said that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar is also planning to join the stir in a personal capacity.

The expressway, dubbed the Samriddhi Mahamarg (prosperity expressway), is said to be chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ pet project and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is building it. Recently farmer organisations from Thane and Nashik held protests in Shahapur where anti-acquisition sentiments are high.

The government, however, has indicated that it would find way out to get farmers on board. Now, all organisations opposing the project are planning to come together in Nashik on May 29 where there will chalk out their next move. Sources said that Mr Pawar has expressed a desire to be present for the meeting in support of farmers. Mr Pawar is said to be ready to attend the meeting in an individual capacity. If this happens, it would be very interesting as Mr Pawar is known for his pro-development approach. In past when farmers had opposed land acquisition for the Mumbai-Pune expressway, Mr Pawar himself had taken initiative to get farmers on board for the project.

In such a context, Mr Pawar’s show of support to farmers could come under attack from the ruling side. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, “We are not surprised by Mr Pawar’s stand. His pro-development leader image was always questionable. He is trying to provoke the people against the BJP government at any cost. There are certain elements that are trying to provoke and incite violence through such protests in state. We should see it in this perspective.”

However, NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik called Mr Pawar’s show of support part of his pro-farmer stand. “We are always pro-development. But this expressway is about samriddhi of a few officers and BJP leaders as they had bought land. They are snatching farmers’ land to up set their own businesses. Pawar saheb will oppose this as it is anti-farmer,” said Mr Malik.

Compensation model

The Maharashtra government has offered various compensation models to farmers to get hold of their land for this ambitious project. As per the land pooling model, annual compensation for the land per hectare would be Rs 75,000; seasonal farmlands would fetch Rs 1,12,400 per hectare and horticultural land Rs 1,50,000 per hectare. This compensation would be paid for ten years with a ten per cent increase per year.  Compensation per acre for non-irrigated land would be Rs 30,000, seasonal farm land would fetch Rs 45,000 and horticulture land Rs 60,000 per hectare. Apart from this, the government will hand over the developed plots to farmers according to this model.  As acquisition is also to be done, the compensation amount would also be increased.