Chharodi residents welcome Nano, sign land transfer papers

In complete contrast to the troublesome land acquisition in Singur...

In complete contrast to the troublesome land acquisition in Singur, Nano’s entry in Gujarat couldn’t have been smoother. Residents of Chharodi, a small village 25 kms from Ahmedabad, had already signed the land transfer papers even before Tata finally sealed the deal in Ahmedabad.

Local farmers, many of them Muslims, virtually made a beeline for the GIDC officials for signing documents to complete the land transfer. Village sarpanch Nazir Pathan, who himself has parted with two acres and had liaised between Government officials and villagers to ensure a smooth transfer, said: “So what if we are Muslims and our land goes for a project that is going to earn Modi credit. The development will reflect in the growth of our future generations.” The interaction with officials was going on for the last four or five days and was wrapped up before Tata head Ratan Tata landed at Ahmedabad.

Peer Khan Hayat Khan Pathan and his brother Shamsher offered 18 bighas “for the sake of overall development of the place” that they hoped would translate into job opportunities for locals. “It is our good fortune that this place is zeroed in for this ambitious project, now, the future of our coming generations is secure, what with fresh jobs and appreciation in land prices in surrounding areas”, said Pathan and his friend Kanuji Thakor.

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Even though Pathan claimed the villagers were assured of jobs to locals, a few elders were apprehensive about such oral assurances. “The village panchayat should get this thing in writing from the private company, the government officials or the politicians cannot be trusted on this”, said Babubhai Parmar, who had an unfortunate experience with a Korean MNC that had set up shop in the vicinity and had sacked him after he sustained an injury on duty.

The eagerness for jobs the project is expected to generate is particularly high since agriculture depends on the Narmada waters for which the farmers are supposed to pay charges. “If there is no Narmada water, then there is no work other than casual labour here”, said a government employee.