3,700 protesting Navsari farmers accept NHRCL’s compensation

SURAT: The last hurdle for the ambitious Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project seems to have been cleared as the 3,700 farmers of Navsari district, who were opposing the project fearing destruction of their mango orchards, have accepted the compensation proposed by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHRCL) on Monday.
The local administration was finding it difficult to acquire land due to farmers’ protest.The land acquisition was the slowest in Navsari district for the construction of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train.
Eight farmers of Khadsupa (Navagam) village in Gandevi taluka of Navsari on Monday received the compensation amount for the land acquired by NHRCL, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed for the execution of the bullet train project.
They said that they are happy with the compensation offered and would like to see bullet trains running on their land.
“I have got Rs 71 lakh for my 23.23 sq m (roughly one bigha) land. This is 80% of the total Rs 93lakh compensation amount. I am happy with the compensation,” Nadubhai Patel, a farmer from Khadsupa village told TOI.
Navsari land acquisition officer Tushar Jani told TOI, “We have started awarding compensation to farmers for their land acquisition. On Monday, amounts were credited into eight farmers’ accounts and the process is underway for another 125 farmers. Total 3,700 farmers from 28 villages will get compensation for their land. We have deployed our teams in all 28 villages to fast-track the documentation process for awarding compensation.”
Sources said that around 91 hectare land from Navsari is being acquired for the project.
“We have held a series of meeting with the government officials who have agreed to provide compensation demanded by the affected farmers. We are happy that all the farmers are getting the amount they wanted for their precious agricultural land,” Vinod Desai, convener, Navsari district Bullet Train Affected Farmers Action Committee, told TOI. “It is important that the bullet train project sees the light of the day soon.”
“Farmers have negotiated hard with the government using democratic processes and finally, it is a win-win situation for both,” added Desai.