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In 2014, Gujarat unanimously voted for their Chief Minister Narendra Modi during the General Elections helping the saffron party clinch all 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state. However, in 2019, although Modi is the Prime Minister of the country, Gujaratis are visibly miffed especially in South Gujarat.
South Gujarat is not only a fertile strip of land with a bi-annual yield, it’s also one of the most heavily industrialised regions in the country. Now, three major infrastructure projects of national significance are currently underway in South Gujarat, which will eat into fertile land and has drawn the ire of several farmers.
One of the major concerns for the farmers is the paltry compensation offered to them by the government, as it is far lesser than the actual market rate of the land. The Quint met with some farmers and land owners in Bharuch District where the three above mentioned projects will kick out hundreds of farmers from their lands.
Ranjitsinh Dabhi of Dehrol Village in Bharuch district juxtaposed the farmer’s position with a forced marriage and said that the farmers are like the girl’s family and they must follow all the rules and instructions set by the boy’s family (aka the government).
The rates were decided by the state government as per the 2011 ready reckoner rate (Jantri rate) for the farm land, but the same rates were not applied on government land, which resulted in severe discrepancies in compensation.
The farmers have alleged that the government has not adhered to the Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) and are compensating the farmers at ready reckoner (Jantri rates) set in 2011.
Nipul Patel, from Juna Diva Gam, Ankleshwar said, “The government has not done this and instead we are being compensated as per 2010, 2011, 2012 Jantri rates in 2018, both in the Express Highway and the Bullet Train projects.”
When The Quint asked the farmers who they will vote for this election, their reply was unanimous.
Issaq Ugarada, from Dehgam in Bharuch said, “They are exercising their power, be it for acquisition or giving compensation. Why should we vote for those who don’t listen to farmers? We will find an alternative and we will have a candidate who is a farmer.”
Jagdish Patel from Ankleshwar said, “We can also use NOTA if no party listens to us. If our farmers’ organisation decides to field a candidate, then we will vote them to power. But we won't listen to anyone’s ‘Mann ki Baat’. We will only listen to the farmers’ ‘Mann ki Baat’.”
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