Land Movements in India Farmers Struggle Against Land Grab in PUNE DISTRICT
Land Movements in India an online resource for land rights activists Farmers Struggle against Land Grab in PUNE DISTRICT OCT 27 Posted by jansatyagraha In Pune district, the government has approved 54 SEZs for private sector industries such as Syntel International, Serum Institute, Mahindra Realty, Bharat Forge, City Parks, InfoTech Parks, Raheja Coroporation, Videocon and Xansa India. All SEZs are located around Pune, in areas like Pune Nashik National Highway, Pune-Bangalore National Highway, Pune Hyderabad National Highway and Pune Mumbai Highway. The MIDC has identified 7,500 hectares of agricultural land for procurement in the name of SEZ creation in Pune. Opposition to SEZs has become apparent in many areas, including Karla near Lonavala, Khed- Rajgurunagar, Wagholi at Pune-Aurangabd highway and Karegaon near the Ranjangaon MIDC. It is particularly strong in the Khed taluka district of Pune, where farmers from Gulani, Wafgaon, Wakalwadi, Warude, Gadakwadi, Chaudharwadi, Chinchbaigaon, Jaulake Budruk, Jarewadi, Kanesar, Pur, Gosasi, Nimgaon, Retwadi, Jaulake Khurd, Dhore Bhamburwadi and Pabal face loss of their only source of livelihood from the creation of the Bharat Forge SEZ. These communities, primarily Maratha, OBC and adivasi, are chiefly engaged in agricultural activities. Their major crops are potato, onion, sorghum, jowar, rice, flowers and pulses. Many village youth have also initiated small-scale businesses like poultry, milk collection and pig raring. Although these villages are near the Bhima River basin and surrounded by a small watershed, the government’s lack of investment in infrastructure has left local farmers dependent on unreliable tanker water. Instead of meeting demands for sustainable irrigation schemes to improve the conditions of local farmers, the government seeks to reduce the land of local citizens in order to create an SEZ.
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