Farmers from Varkhand, Nagzar, Tulaskarwadi, Dhargal and surrounding areas affected by the Mopa airport link road project took the extreme step of blocking traffic as their 24-hour deadline to authorities to stop work ended on Sunday. The villagers under the banner of Dhargal Mopa Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti demanded that work should be halted since there is a show-cause notice order issued by the panchayat.
This link-road agitation once again highlights the fact that inclusive governance is a myth. On the contrary, at Mopa we see a ruthless attempt to bulldoze land rights of people. The sinister design behind the face-saving development mantra stands exposed because here is a road project under the national highways spread across an area of 3.97 lakh sqmtrs that has no people’s involvement and does not have even a social impact assessment as mandated in the new acquisition policy.
If inclusive development is the norm, such large-scale plans should have been first placed before the panchayat and the gram sabha. Locals should have been engaged and options explored so that livelihoods and plantations are saved. Governments cannot run riot over people's land rights and livelihoods merely by offering lucrative compensation. There has to be a Plan B. Farmers affected by the link-road have been offered Rs 60 crore compensation, but that too is against the grim reality that grants take laboriously long to reach the common man. It may be recalled, out of the total compensation announced for the Mopa airport land acquisition ever since it was upgraded during the Manohar Parrikar regime, a good 80 per cent has still not reached the people till now because of documentation issues.
The government may have an obligation to put in place requisite infrastructure linked to the upcoming Mopa airport, but this cannot be done arbitrarily. Moreover, the matter is pending in the High Court, and it would be prudent to wait till the court decides. The hurry and stubbornness with which the work is being undertaken appear suspicious against the backdrop of real estate sharks setting up shop in the vicinity.
Insistence on projects has often led to friction between the people and government. Lest we forget, the proposed IIT campus at Shel Melauli faced a similar situation where a decision was taken to acquire large tracts of cultivable land without ground assessment and concrete rehabilitation plans. It was only after a fierce and sustained agitation that even led to violent clashes that forced the State government to finally reverse its decision.
It appears that lessons have not been learnt and promises of pro-people and sustainable development made in the just-concluded election campaign were mere rhetoric to garner votes. This agitation of the farming community has also exposed the hollowness of the political class. While political parties and leaders of all hues seized every opportunity to show solidarity with people during the run-up to elections by involving themselves in dharnas, protests and even volunteering to undergo hunger strikes, there is no visible support to these farmers who are waging a relentless and sustained war under scorching heat to save their land.
