Skip to main content

Gujarat farmers of historic Bardoli up in arms against government decision to urbanize cash-rich agricultural area

A sugar factory in Bardoli
By Our Representative
Historic Bardoli, where Sardar Patel launched the famous Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928 as part of the civil disobedience movement, turning him into a top leader of the independence movement, is in the throes of a major controversy. Here, the Gujarat government has decided to implement the town planning At on 149 sq km area to further “urbanize” the small township.
Farmers of this highly fertile agricultural region of South Gujarat are up in arms following a recent state notification, which declares that the Act would be applied on their land spread over three 33 villages of Bardoli, Palsana and Mahuva talukas of Surat district. The land, it said, has been set aside for Bardoli Urban Development Authority (BUDA) for urban planning.
Once the Act is implemented in any rural area of Gujarat, the state government is well within its right to acquire up to 40 per cent of agriculture land in the name of “developing” urban infrastructure.
Opposing the move, the state's upcoming farmers' organization, the Khedut Samaj (Gujarat) has called the Gujarat government move violation of the 73rd and 74th amendment of the Constitution of India, under which the development of any area would follow the decision by an authority formed consisting of elected panchayat and municipality representatives.
A statement issued by the leaders of the farmers' body, Jayeshbhai Patel, Bhagubhai Patel, Parimalbhai Patel and Anilbhai Patel, has said, it is particularly strange that the important constitutional amendments have still not been implemented the state government, even though they were promulgated way back, in 1992. “We would launch an agitation in case the notification is not withdrawn”, they have said.
“Especially shocking is that the state government has gone ahead with its decision at a time when a writ petition is pending in the Gujarat High Court. Following the writ petition, the state government has sought time to explain its stand on the two constitutional amendments”, the statement asserts.
“There is little reason for implementing the town planning scheme for the Bardoli town”, the statement says, pointing that the town's population, 51,946 in 2001, has risen to 60,821 in 2011, a 9 per cent rise, which is “negligible”. “For whom is the town planning scheme being implemented? And why?”, the statement wonders.
Pointing out that the move comes close on the heels of the Gujarat government to implement a similar town planning scheme around Surat on a 1,024 sq km area, the statement says, with the area around Bardoli, too now added, the total area of Surat district to go for urbanization would be a whopping 27 per cent.
“South Gujarat accounts for 71 per cent of water available for irrigation in the state”, the statement says, adding, “Instead of setting up a special agricultural zone in the area because of the production of high quality sugarcane, mangoes, bananas and vegetables, the state government appears more interested in industrializing the region.”
“We do not want this area to be usurped by some neighbouring regions notorious in the country as a whole for very high levels of pollution, such as Vapi and Ankaleshwar”, the statement says, adding, “Urbanization of the region would mean end of the region's sugar factories, too, which which depend heavily on sugarcane from the region. It would hit employment badly.”

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.