The ambitious high-speed bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai faced its first major display of public opposition on Monday when a large number of farmers from Surat and nearby areas presented a memorandum to the Surat district collector.
President of the Gujarat Khedut Samaj, Jayesh Patel, told THE WEEK that the farmers submitted a memorandum listing 14 objections to land acquisition for the bullet train project in connection with notifications issued as per section 11 (1) of Land Acquisition Act 2013.
The farmers reached the Collectorate in a rally, riding tractors and motorcycles. For more than an hour, they were prevented from meeting the collector. The farmers were told that they did not have the permission to take out a rally. However, later on, they were allowed to submit the memorandum.
Among several other things, the farmers demanded that the notification issued for the bullet train project be considered null and void. Patel claimed actions have not been taken as per the government's rehabilitation and resettlement policy.
Patel and the farmers also alleged that an environment impact assessment was not undertaken. The farmers also held that they were not offered compensation as per the market rate.
The farmers also citied the food security angle and said that land was being acquired despite the fact that there was a provision barring acquisition of land that gives more than one crop per year.
Patel also said that there was no need to acquire land for the bullet train project as there was enough land already acquired under the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).
He said that the farmers would take out a four-day awareness drive from Ahmedabad to Valsad, beginning from June 22.
Various civil rights activists and farmers' and environmental groups from Gujarat and Maharashtra are going to join hands for the awareness drive.
The ground-breaking ceremony of the Japan-backed bullet train project was held last year in Ahmedabad. The bullet train project is among the 'pet' projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.