Amid heavy police deployment, officials from the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), building the bullet train corridor from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, on Wednesday started acquiring farming land at Utiyadara and Old Diva villages in Ankleshwar taluka of Bharuch district. While work on the bullet train project is going on Valsad, Navsari and Surat districts of south Gujarat, the process of land acquisition in Bharuch district, neighbouring Surat, was yet to commence. On Wednesday, as officials started to measure land at Utiyadara village in Ankleshwar town, villagers turned up at the spot in large numbers, leading to a heated exchange between the two groups. Following this, the Bharuch Police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control by falicitating a meeting of the officials with the protesting farmers. Officials in the land acquisition department of Bharuch said that 127 hectare of farming land belonging to over 1,000 farmers in 27 villages of the district would have to be acquired for the bullet train project. While most of the farmers had taken the compensation amount paid to them in return for their land, around 400 have refused to give up their land. Officials added that of the land belonging to 51 farmers in Utiyadara, 27 had accepted the compensation amount. However, 24 farmers have refused the same. In Old Diva village near Utiyadara, of the 62 affected farmers, 56 had refused to take the compensation. On Wednesday, the land acquisition process was started on the land of those farmers who had taken the compensation in Utiyadara. Bharuch Deputy Superintendent of Police Chirag Desai said, “We assured the farmers that land of only those farmers who had taken the reward amount will be acquired. After we explained, they stood and witnessed the land acquisition process.” Ranjeet Singh, a farmer who was present at the spot, said, “We have moved court against the compensation announced. We will not allow land to be acquired of those farmers who had not taken the amount. We will continue our fight till the issue is finalised.” As per NHSRCL data, 99.29 per cent of land have been acquired in Gujarat till May 14. Work on the entire 352-km stretch passing through eight districts of Gujarat and Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli is in progress. Work on eight high-speed railway stations from Vapi to Sabarmati are also under various stages of construction.
