MUMBAI: As the Maharashtra government commenced the direct purchase of land at various places along the Samruddhi corridor, farmers from Nashik resolved to continue opposing the Mumbai-Nagpur super communication highway.
A statewide conference of farmers opposing the Samruddhi corridor was organized at Nashik on Monday. An eight-point resolution was adopted at the day-long conference and the farmers also resolved to take out a protest march at Mumbai on August 10.
“We adopted eight-point resolution with a prime demand that the government must widen the existing highways before purchasing land for the new highway,” Raje Desle, state coordinator of Samruddhi Corridor Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, the farmers’ forum opposing the corridor, told the New Indian Express.
Implementation of Land Acquisition Act of 2013 is another prime demand of the farmers. They also demanded that all cases filed against them during their agitation to be taken back. The government has acquired some land required for the project forcibly. That land needs to be returned to farmers, the resolution said.
Opposition to the project would be more organized henceforth, said Desle, adding that a new statewide committee will be constituted soon with five representatives from all the 10 districts from where the land would be needed for the corridor.
We have also decided to urge all the MLAs and MPs from the region to make their stand clear on the issue and give a voice to the concerns of farmers in their respective houses, Desle said.
The organization has also decided to start an awareness campaign to highlight the deceptive acts of the government agencies entrusted with implementation of the project, he added.