Gurugram farmers cite Singur, seek return of land unused for 14 years

GURUGRAM : A fresh protest is brewing in five Gurgaon

villages

that gave up nearly 1,600 acres of land 14 years ago for an

SEZ

project that was subsequently scrapped.

The government has now proposed a new project, Global City, on this land — a residential-cum commercial enterprise. But the farmers, led by the bigger landlosers, say the government must negotiate a new set of terms if any work has to begin here.

Their primary demand, however, is that the land be returned to them on the ground that it has been lying idle for over a decade. The farmers are citing the Supreme Court’s order in West Bengal’s Singur to return land — originally acquired for the Nano factory before the project was taken out of Bengal — to the farmers, despite compensation being paid, since it was lying idle.

The Singur farmers were also allowed to keep the compensation awarded to them in lieu of their land because they had been deprived of a source of income for a decade.

Farmers in the five villages of

Gadoli Khurd

, Harsaru, Khandsa, Mohammadpur and Narsinghpur are aware of this. Most have accepted compensation, in belief that the funds, along with employment in any industrial venture that came up on this land, would secure their future. Today, they would be content if they could start tilling the farms again to support a living.

“This land has been left unused for 14 years, which not only has cost the region, but also the state government. The new land acquisition law says if land has not been utilised for more than five years, it must be returned to farmers,” said Nathu Singh, a former sarpanch of Mohammadpur.

Mange Ram, who lives in Gadoli Khurd, added, “The state government can take a cue from West Bengal and return us our land. We’ll not let the government start work on this land now, unless our demand is met. We’ll sit on a dharna to make the government concede.”

These fresh demands include a 25% stake in whatever new project the government undertakes, a residential and commercial plot to each farmer and a government job for one member of a landlosing farmer’s family.

The demand for returning land was always there. But the voices, so far, have been few. It was BJP’s pre-poll promise assuring return of land that strengthened villagers’ hopes. “Whenever we started a protest between 2006 and 2009, BJP leaders, including Rao Narbir Singh, O P Dhankar, Captain Abhimanyu and Ram Bilas Sharma met us and assured us our land will be returned once they are in power. All those promises have now been forgotten,” said Rao S Krisan of Harsaru.

Over the past three years, the farmers have met, among others, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar himself, but claim they were turned away every time with assurance that the matter would be looked into.

“I will check and revert,” Rao Inderjit Singh said when asked for a comment, while Rao Narbir Singh said, “Villagers have got compensation. I’ll raise a debate in the state cabinet on the land-return demand.”

The villagers’ discontent also stems from the fact that they have been running from pillar to post for enhancement and timely disbursal of compensation. They have filed 80 cases and petitions in the last 10 years at the district court, high court and Supreme Court. “We were not paid just prices to begin with. Then we struggled to get our money. If the government can’t give us back our land, they should give us 25% share in the project and accept our other demands,” said Ravi Dutt, who has been fighting enhancement cases along with others.

Krisan admitted the case for return of land was difficult for villagers who have already received compensation. But he said they will not budge from their other demands. There is a section of farmers, though, who have not accepted compensation. The land they own is around 206 acres of the total 1,590 acres acquired.

The land was acquired by the INLD government in 2003, and later transferred to Reliance by the Congress government in 2006. This was followed by villagers’ protests, including a major demonstration in Gadoli where 150 villagers, including women and children, were jailed. The villagers felt cheated as they had given the land at very low prices and the government has invoked the public purpose clause under the old land law (a clause used for public infrastructure projects). After several court battles, the compensation (initially around Rs 12 lakh/acre increased approximately four times, depending on the land quantum a farmer had given up). Reliance backed out of the project in 2014 just before BJP assumed power.

In 2016, the state government announced the Global City project on the same land in association with a Japanese player, to be developed under Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited, and scheduled for launch in September 2017. HSIIDC sources said the project is likely to miss the deadline. HSIIDC MD Raja Shekhar Vundru could not be reached for a comment.