Villagers protest land acquisition for SEZ

Residents of seven villages under Jandiala block near Amritsar, whose fertile farming land has come under notification issued by the Punjab government for setting up an SEZ on 1,218 acres, are up in arms against the government's move.

A near unanimity has emerged among farmers for not selling the land. A majority of them say once they sell their land they would lose their source of income.

One acre of land of Kundan Singh of Jhite Khurd village has come under the SEZ. He says he has been earning his livelihood by selling vegetables and selling his land would make his future uncertain.

When asked about the current rate of land in these villages, they said it would be somewhere between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 60 lakh. Farmers feel the government would decide the rate of land after observing the intensity of their agitation.

Kisan Sangharash Committee (KSC) leaders, spearheading the movement against the acquisition of cultivable land, claimed that they had carried out their survey. Harjit Singh Jhite, a farmer leader, said the acquisition of farming land would adversely affect about 20,000 villagers. He said all these villagers either directly or indirectly were dependent on this land.

As per their survey majority of the farmers owned one to four acres of land while the number of those with over six acres and above was not very high. "Apart from this about 250 marginal farmers have their houses on their farming land," he added.

According to him 1,218 acres yield 35,000 quintals of paddy and 25,000 quintals of wheat, besides fodder for livestock. In addition to this, thousands of landless farmers and farm labourers would also lose their jobs.

It may be mentioned that hundreds of activists of nine farmer organisations, including women, stopped railway traffic at Manawala on September 25 in protest against the acquisition of cultivable land for SEZ which resulted in delay of three trains.

The agitated villagers also held two DLF and WSP India Company officials, who had gone to collect water samples in Jhite Kalan village on September 15, hostage. They released them only after the arrival of the police.