Villagers submit objections to ‘Third Mumbai’ plan, threaten to launch massive agitation

NAVI MUMBAI: Villagers of Uran, Panvel, and Pen areas of Raigad district, where the state has proposed a mega township of ‘Third Mumbai’, submitted their objections to the government on Wednesday, vehemently opposing their land acquisition for the project. The villagers have threatened to launch a massive agitation involving lakhs of people if the notification is not withdrawn.

The state government, on March 4, issued notifications handing over 124 villages around the Atal Setu Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) for development to the New Town Development Authority (NTDA) headed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). These villages are located in Raigad district’s Uran, Panvel, and Pen areas.

The villagers were responding to the 30-day period given by the government to submit objections to the plan. The villagers had initially planned a massive morcha to collectively submit their objections, however, due to the code of conduct the numbers were considerably reduced. They have, however, warned of lakhs of people converging to protest, if the government went ahead with the plan.

Under the aegis of “MMRDA Virodhi Shetkari Samiti, Raigad” the objections were submitted by gram panchayat members, social activists and political leaders representing various villages at the Konkan Bhavan office of the assistant director of town planning (ADTP) in Belapur. The villagers raised slogans against the plan and MMRDA.

Kailas Mhatre, an engineer from Khopta village, said “Ask the government to sterilise us so that we will not have kids and our families will not grow further.”

Lamented Mhatre, “There has not been any gaothan expansion since British rule. Can’t the government see on Google map that houses are coming up in gaothan areas. How can it then plan to acquire this land from us and later term them illegal constructions.”

Declared Gorakh Thakur from Khopta, “We are ready to give our land for the project but on a 99-year-old lease just as how the government has given to others. We shall remain the owners.”

He claimed, “We got the notification on our WhatsApp. There was no official communication to our gram panchayat or other government offices. This is a ploy to recover the ₹18,000 crore cost of MTHL”

Said Advocate Parjanya Mhatre, “In none of the notifications there is any detail given of the compensation. There is no mention of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 which gives 4 times the ready reckoner rate as compensation and also 20% developed land. When the UDCPR has been implemented all over the state, why not here which gives 60% of land to farmers at 1.5 FSI and the ownership remains with them.”

He added, “In Khopta and NAINA, the government was going to be a facilitator, but now MMRDA seems to have told it that it can acquire land forcibly and hence this new plan whereby the villages have been taken away from CIDCO and given to MMRDA.”

Rupesh Patil, convenor of the Samiti said, “The state government has been coming up with plans but where is the development in all these years? Our forefathers have worked on this land for years. We are all qualified. We are capable of taking care of ourselves.”

He added, “We have all seen what the PAPs whose land was acquired by CIDCO for Navi Mumbai are going through. Their issues are still pending. We are no longer going to take orders.”

Retired government official, Sudhakar Patil of Govathane village said, “We are opposed to both CIDCO and MMRDA. They are all the same. Not one of the houses in the 95 villages that CIDCO acquired for Navi Mumbai has been regularised. MMRDA will do the same with us. We want our gaothan constructions regularised and property cards issued.”

Alleged BN Daki of Uran, “CIDCO took PAP land for peanuts and now we see top industrialists setting up huge complexes. The plans are not for the farmers but for the capitalists. Despite Jawaharlal Nehru Port coming up in our area, how have we benefited?”

Snehal Gharat of Dakti Jui said, “We do not want to be sacrificial lambs. We are seeing what is happening in Panvel and Navi Mumbai.”

Vinod Mhatre, Uran Congress President and a former zilla parishad member said, “The government’s concept of developing the area is misplaced. We are living a quality life. It should remove the MMRDA noose. Farmers are not going to tolerate any more attempts through any name or authority to take our land for the benefit of the capitalists.”

When contacted, ADTP Jitendra Bhople, said, “We are accepting the objections and suggestions as per the notification notice. The government will take these into account and a final order will be accordingly issued.”