How was your meeting with Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh on the Nirma cement project in Gujarat? Have you now decided to fight the battle in Delhi after leading a farmers' movement in the state?
The meeting with the environment minister was very good. We are satisfied. This meeting was important because we wanted to personally meet him and thank him for taking action against the project in Mahuva. I believe people should come out in support of Ramesh since he really wants to protect the rights of farmers. He has often been accused of being anti-development, but that is completely wrong. If the agricultural land in Mahuva and the adjoining areas have to be protected, if water for drinking and irrigation in the coastal areas of Gujarat has to be protected, then we must openly come out in support of Jairam Ramesh.
Why are you opposed to a cement project in the state? Don't you think it will help in the area's economic development?
The government of Gujarat had granted land rights to Nirma in the heart of a water body created by the Samdhiala Bund. The cement company demanded a total of 4,415 hectares of land on lease for the mining of limestone from nine villages in Bhavnagar district. This land includes wet, privately owned agricultural land of 3,583 hectares, Gauchar land of 232 hectares, government wasteland of 343 hectares and another 253 hectares assigned for other purposes. The Gujarat government has already given in-principle approval to a total of 3,460 hectares of land for mining limestone to produce one million tonnes of cement.
We also want development of Gujarat, but it should not happen at the cost of farmers losing their agricultural land. Even if farmers in the area get a lot of money by selling their land, what will they do when all this money is used? The children of these farmers will not only lose their land but because of poverty, they might turn anti-social. Is this the kind of development that the Gujarat government wants?
Earlier, all these areas were wasteland but the Gujarat government created these bunds to protect saline sea water from entering the area. Now, the state government is planning to completely destroy agricultural land and these water bodies by allowing limestone mining and by building a cement factory.
The Gujarat government is suppressing the truth by allowing Nirma to set up a cement plant. Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the Nirma people have colluded against the farmers. Narendra Modi is playing with the lives of farmers and their family members in the name of development. Read the full report here.
Source:Â Â Gyan Varma, Business Standard.
