Another controversy rocks Surat Gem Park

The farmers of Ichhapore village have written to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, seeking their help in getting their land back.

The land was sold to the Gujarat Hira Bourse (GHB) by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) for developing a Gem and Jewellery Park.

Ichhapore Khedut Samaj convenor Janak Patel, said, "The state government has failed to provide justice to the farmers of Ichhapore. The land was reserved in 1984 by GIDC for developing industrial sheds, but the purpose has not been achieved. As per the provisions of Land Acquisition Act, GIDC should return the land to the original owners, i.e. farmers, but the corporation has instead sold the land to GHB."

The farmers claim that the jewellery park project would violate the Supreme Court guidelines. "The Supreme Court has prohibited construction activity within a 500-metre range of any river or rivulet. The entire land, on which GHB plans to develop the jewellery park, is surrounded by rivers and rivulets," he said.

The farmers are demanding that the land at Ichhapore be placed under the Agriculture Zone. "Our land was placed under reservation 20 years back, but we have been using it for farming till date. Even at present, there are standing crops on the land. The Centre should place our land under the Agriculture Zone, so that the livelihood of thousands of farmers is not lost," Patel said.

"Bhumi-pujan of the proposed jewellery park will be performed by chief minister Narendra Modi in December. Once the project gets started, we would not be able to do anything about it, and hence we are demand that the Centre should intervene in the matter at the earliest, and put brakes on the project," Patel said.

The farmers are also demanding a CBI probe in the matter. "There have been gross irregularities in the entire episode right from placing the land under reservation to selling it GHB for the jewellery park. All rules and regulations have been violated. We are demanding a CBI inquiry as well as a high-level vigilance inquiry in the matter, so that the wrong practices that have taken place, can be exposed," Patel added.