Pawar asks farmers to unite against Mumbai-Nagpur expressway

Mumbai city news: The former union agriculture minister said they are not against development, but feel destroying the future of farmers for a project is not unfair

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday asked farmers to unite against the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur super expressway, a pet project of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis which will require a huge amount of land from farmers.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar also slammed the government for not conducting a survey for the Rs 46,000 crore project.(HT file photo)

Pawar also slammed the government for not conducting a survey for the project.

The farmers have formed a committee, Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti (SSS), to oppose the project.

Pawar, who met members of the Samiti, said, “I urge farmers to unite like they did for the loan waiver. The state government will have to consider their concerns. It seems the government took decisions based on surveys conducted through GPS mapping.”

The former union agriculture minister said they are not against development, but feel destroying the future of farmers for a project is not unfair.

Pawar said NCP leaders and farmers’ representatives will soon meet the government to discuss the issues.

The expressway needs about 20,820 hectares, of which 84.13% is agricultural land.

In most districts, farmers have opposed the land pooling scheme, which offers Rs30,000 to Rs60,000 an acre a year as compensation for 10 years, with an annual increase of 10% every year.

The farmers will also be entitled to 25-30% of the developed land along the corridor. The government has now offered famers four times the market rate of the land, which they have rejected.

What is the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway?

The Rs 46,000-crore super-communication expressway will pass through 10 districts, covering a distance of 710-km and connecting adjoining 24 rural districts

It will require 20,820 hectares, of which 8,520 hectares will be for the road and 12,000 hectares for development of 24 townships

The objective of the expressway is to provide seamless connectivity across districts namely Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Aurangabad, Jalna, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Thane

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is the nodal agency for the project.