Rich farmers of Mandal-Becharaji area regret taking part in agitation against SIR

Rich farmers "opposing" SIR

By A Representative
The Gujarat government may have gone on the back foot by excluding 36 of the 44 villages from its proposed special investment region (SIR) in the Mandal -Becharaji area of North Gujarat, but now there is enough reason for it to "cheer". Sharp rise in the land prices in the eight villages that will now be included in the newly-formed SIR – Bhagapura and Shihor of Detroj taluka, Hansalpur-Becharaji, Sitapur, Udhroj, Udhrojpura and Ukardi of Mandal taluka, Chandanki village of Becharaji taluka – is leading to a situation where a section of the rich landowners of rest of the 36 villages are said to be regretting why they protested against SIR.
Informed sources close to the development say, land prices in the eight villages have gone up so high that they are “double those that exist next to the Tata Motors’ Nano plant in Sanand area in Ahmedabad district.” They add, “The highest land price around the Nano plant is Rs 1.5 crore per bigha, while those next to the proposed Maruti-Suzuki plant, which is central to the SIR, have peaked Rs 3 crore per bigha. A section of the influential persons who participated in the agitation against the SIR under the Jameen Adhikar Andolan Gujarat (JAAG) never expected this to happen.”
In fact, if these sources are to be believed, some of the well-off landowners of the 36 villages have told JAAG leaders that they regret the day when they joined the agitation, which continued for about a year. “It seems clear that these landowners participated in the agitation only to raise the price of the land, and not against the SIR. While today the landowners of the eight villagers are rejoicing, their counterparts feel let down. In fact, some of them have informally told JAAG leaders whether it would be possible to reverse the decision of opposing the Becharaji-Mandal SIR”, the source said.
The suspicion is that, a few of the politically influential landowners may have approached the Gujarat government requesting for reversal of the decision to exclude 36 villages from the SIR. “Already, JAAG is failing to mobilize farmers of the Becharaji-Mandal area in favour of its main demand – to pressure the Gujarat government to abrogate the SIR Act itself, which puts the entire SIR region under a notified authority. Under the Act, this notified authority is more powerful than any local self-governing authority all issues of overall development, including land acquisition”, the sources pointed out.
Latest developments around the proposed Maruti-Suzuki plant suggest that the Gujarat government is doing all it can to raise the value of the Becharaji-Mandal area. Already, the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) is going ahead with its plans of setting up three industrial estates in the area by acquiring around 1,000 hectares of land in villages including Vithalpur and Bhagapura in Mandal and Detroj talukas. Sources said that the process of land acquisition has already started and is progressing gradually.
This is happening at a time when the land prices in Sanand are softening for the first time after a continuous appreciation since 2008 when Tata Motors set up the Nano plant in the Ahmedabad neighbourhood. Sanand land prices had shot up more than 300 per cent in three years. This led to a situation where farmers could command whatever price. The situation reached the extent where there were no takers and farmers in need of money began selling their land at 10-20 per cent lower rates. Average price of agricultural land jumped to more than Rs 1 crore per bigha, which was around Rs 10 lakh per bigha four years ago.
Meanwhile, the Mandal-Becharaji area continued to witness increasing demand for land as real estate developers try hard to build a land bank in the region. There is a distinct view that the demand for real estate is likely to rise considerably in the coming years. Already, India’s two-wheeler giant Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) is being wooed to put up a project in the vicinity. HMSI is said to be planning to set up its fourth manufacturing plant in the country in Gujarat. "The company has been looking for land in the Mandal-Becharaji region," a senior state official was quoted as saying.

Comments

NYT: RSS 'infiltrates' institutions, 'drives' religious divide under Modi's leadership

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive New York Times investigation published on December 26, 2025, chronicles the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — characterized as a far-right Hindu nationalist organization — from a shadowy group founded in 1925 to the world's largest right-wing force, marking its centenary in 2025 with unprecedented influence and mainstream acceptance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who joined the RSS as a young boy and later became a full-time campaigner before being deputized to its political wing in the 1980s, delivered his strongest public tribute to the group in his August 2025 Independence Day address. Speaking from the Red Fort , he called the RSS a "giant river" with dozens of streams touching every aspect of Indian life, praising its "service, dedication, organization, and unmatched discipline." The report describes how the RSS has deeply infiltrated India's institutions — government, courts, police, media, and academia — ...

Why experts say replacing MGNREGA could undo two decades of rural empowerment

By A Representative A group of scientists, academics, civil society organisations and field practitioners from India and abroad has issued an open letter urging the Union government to reconsider the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and to withdraw the newly enacted Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The letter, dated December 27, 2025, comes days after the VB–G RAM G Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16 and subsequently approved by both Houses of Parliament, formally replacing the two-decade-old employment guarantee law.

ArcelorMittal faces global scrutiny for retreat from green steel, job cuts, and environmental violations

By Jag Jivan ArcelorMittal is facing mounting criticism after cancelling or delaying nearly all of its major green steel projects across Europe, citing an “unsupportive policy environment” from the European Union . The company has shelved projects in Germany , Belgium , and France , while leaving the future of its Spanish decarbonisation plan uncertain. The decision comes as global unions warn that more than 5,500 jobs are at risk across its operations, including 4,000 in South Africa , 1,400 in Europe, and 160 in Canada .

Domestic vote-bank politics 'behind official solidarity' with Bangladeshi Hindus

By Sandeep Pandey, Faisal Khan The Indian government has registered a protest with Bangladesh over the mob lynching of two Hindus—Deepu Chandra Das in Mymensingh and Amrit Mandal in Rajbari. In its communication, the government cited a report by the Association of Hindus, Buddhists and Christian Unity Council, which claims that more than 2,900 incidents of killings, arson, and land encroachments targeting minorities have taken place since the interim government assumed power in Bangladesh.

Investment in rule of law a corporate imperative, not charity: Business, civil society leaders

By A Representative In a compelling town hall discussion hosted at L.J School of Law , prominent voices from industry and civil society underscored that corporate investment in strengthening the rule of law is not an act of charity but a critical business strategy for building a safer, stronger, and developed India by 2047. The dialogue, part of the Unmute podcast series, examined the intrinsic link between ethical business conduct , robust legal frameworks, and sustainable national development, against the sobering backdrop of India ranking 79th out of 142 countries on the global Rule of Law Index .

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

2025 was not just a bad year—it was a moral failure, it normalised crisis

By Atanu Roy* The clock has struck midnight. 2025 has passed, and 2026 has arrived. Firecrackers were already bursting in celebration. If this is merely a ritual, like Deepavali, there is little to comment on. Otherwise, I find 2025 to have been a dismal year, weighed down by relentless odds—perhaps the worst year I have personally witnessed.

Gig workers’ strike halts platforms, union submits demands to Labour Ministry

By A Representative India’s gig economy witnessed an partial disruption on December 31, 2025, as a large number of delivery workers, app-based service providers, and freelancers across the country participated in a nationwide strike called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). The strike, which followed days of coordinated protests, shut down major platforms including Zomato , Swiggy , Blinkit , Zepto , Flipkart , and BigBasket in several areas.

Can global labour demand absorb India’s growing workforce?

By N.S. Venkataraman* Over the past eleven years, India has claimed significant economic growth , emerging as the world’s fourth-largest economy. With the Government of India continuing to pursue economic and industrial development initiatives, this growth momentum is expected to continue in the medium term.

Search This Blog