While their leader was away

The land in question comprises large tracts measuring over 1,000 hectare at Baner, Mhalunge, Sus and Tathawade villages located on the fringe of Pune city. After the Third National Games were held at the Balewadi sports complex in 1994, several speculators including politicians who opted for benami deals indulged in land transactions in this area. The prime reason: the area was developing fast, and its proximity to the proposed six-lane Pune-Mumbai Expressway conceived by the then Congress government headed by Pawar himself.

But early this year, the Joshi Government notified the area as part of the proposed Mega-City Project for which 422 hectare will be acquired by the Government, handed over to the recently floated Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, developed and sold at a premium to private entrepreneurs. The proposed project will be a modern mini-township with a posh residential zone, modern civic amenities and a software technology park.The proceeds from this were estimated at about Rs 300 crore which will be utilised for funding the Pune-Mumbai Expressway. The remaining funds required for the Rs 2,000-crore Expressway were to be raised from another Mega-City Project proposed in Raigad, and from advertisement and toll charges.

In fact, the Congressmen had been lobbying to shift the venue of the proposed Mega-City Project to the State Government-owned 1,000 acres at Chikhli on the outskirts of neighbouring twin industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad. But the Joshi government deferred its decision till a notification was issued in April 1997 under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894. And the order of acquisition, when it was finally issued, landed many of the speculators in no-man8217;s land: most plots were still in the name of the original farm landholders. Worse, the compensation will go to the original landholder.

8220;The Congressmen find themselves in a forbidding situation of their own making,8221; said minister-in-charge of Pune district, Dilip Kamble. The Land Acquisition Act recognises the land holders as per the 7/12 extracts and not the power of attorney8217; documents. Even the sale deeds signed with the original landholders do not count in acquisition. Even otherwise, the acquisition amount is paltry and the speculators do not hope even to recover the amount they paid the farmers when they bought the tracts.

No wonder, then, that there were immediate protests. Recently, at a protest march against the project, farmers8217; came in their Maruti 1000s, Cielos and Tata Sumos, sporting Ray Bans and armed with cellular phones. But Pawar8217;s inner circle his nephew and MLA Ajit Pawar, and MLAs Dilip Walse-Patil, Subhash Kul and Rambhau Mozhe did not come to their help and chose to remain aloof.

8220;The chief minister deceived us. He did not keep his promise,8221; said Bhosale. Joshi had reportedly assured Congress delegations from this district on a number of occasions that their lands will not be touched. Bhosale also claimed to have extracted an assurance to this effect from public works minister Nitin Gadkari on the floor of the State Assembly.He charged the Shiv Sena-BJP Government with setting a bad precedent of minting money on land belonging to 8220;poor farmers8221; and 8220;small plot-holders.8221; According to Bhosale, the Government was misleading the people through its claims that a majority of the tracts were owned by Congress bigwigs. About 750 were original farmers and over 300 plot-holders with a middle-class background, he said.

Pawar took time off from his busy schedule in New Delhi and wrote to the beleaguered lot advising them to call off their agitation and try and resolve the issue across the table with the State rulers. He reportedly assured them that he too would try to get in touch with the Government over the issue

Meanwhile, the Pune-Mumbai Expressway proposal has run into rough weather with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests refusing permission. Joshi, however, remained unfazed and announced on Wednesday that his government will pass a legislation during the monsoon session to stop landowners from stalling acquisition processes in the case of road projects.

Route to acquisition

1992: The Sharad Pawar government moots Pune-Mumbai Expressway project.n 1993: State Public Works Department surveys an 84-km stretch between Dehu Road Punu and Kon Panvel, Mumbain 1994: Speculators rush to buy land in the area which became a prime spot after Suresh Kalmadi8217;s mega-event, the Third National Games.n 1995: The Manohar Joshi Government announces that work would begin in January 1996.n 1996: The Government floats Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation seeking private investment in road building sector. The corporation floats Mega-City Projects to finance the Expressway project.n April 2, 1997: Government issues a notification under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 for acquisition of 422 hectare around Balewadi sports complex.n May 26, 1997: The Government launches the process of acquisition. Agitating Congressmen are lathicharged.n May 28, 1997: Congress leaders launch a fast-unto-death8217; in front of the Pune district collectorate to protest against land-grabbing8217; by the Joshi Government and the district administration8217;s high-handedness.n May 29, 1997: The fast-unto-death8217; is called off after receiving a fax message from Sharad Pawar. The acquisition process is on.