A team from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is funding by the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train venture, concluded its two-day meeting with Gujarat farmers and villagers opposed to land acquisition for the project on 8 December.
Farmers had earlier written to JICA requesting its officials to visit the affected villages to understand the ground reality.
The three-member team, led by JICA's chief representative Katsuo Matsumoto, met hundreds of farmers whose lands will have to be acquired for the project from south Gujarat districts. The team heard the farmers' grievances and legal issues over two days.
The Japanese government's funding agency is providing a soft loan to India for the first high speed train project in the country, which is expected to cost Rs 1.08 lakh crore. JICA officials were not available for comment.
On Friday, 7 December, around 400 project-affected persons gathered at Amadpore in Navsari district where they made their representations before the JICA team, said Jayesh Patel of Gujarat Khedut Samaj, a farmers' outfit.
"The second meeting was held at Kathor village in Surat district where more than 150 houses will have to be razed to pave the way for the bullet train. JICA met 200 farmers there. Both meetings lasted well over three hours," he said.
Farmers' leaders said they apprised the team with the ground reality of the land acquisition process and how it ‘flouts’ JICA's guidelines. Several farmers have challenged the state government's land acquisition process in the Gujarat High Court. They claim the process is not in accordance with the law.
The team also met representatives of Adivasi Ekta Parishad from Maharashtra. The representatives told the JICA team how rules were being ‘flouted’ for acquiring forest land for the project, Patel said.
According to Jayesh Patel “JICA members told us that a positive consultation report was provided to them by the NHSRCL instead of the actual picture. “
“Villagers who met the JICA team said the government was not taking into account the impact land acquisition will have on their social life,” said lawyer Anand Yagnik, who is representing farmers in the high court.
(With Inputs from PTI)
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