123Pune.com

Mumbai: National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) leader Medha Patkar, along with six representatives of displaced people, began a 48-hour fast at the Azad Maidan here at 8 a.m. on Sunday. It is to protest the “betrayal” by the government in its promise to probe discrepancies in land acquisitions across the State and look into the rehabilitation issue.

According to a press statement, none of the assurances by Relief Minister Patangrao Kadam, given in a meeting on October 15, has been recorded in the minutes. “The high-level committee [to investigate land acquisition] was supposed to have been headed by Neela Satyanarayan, Additional Chief Secretary and comprising Ramesh Kumar, Secretary, Rehabilitation; Dangre, Secretary, Revenue, along with the District Collector of Pune and Divisional Commissioner (Western Region). However, the minutes do not even have a mention of any investigation by the Chief Secretary or the Additional Chief Secretary. Nor is there any mention of the decision taken to visit the Narmada valley. There is also no mention in writing of the oral admission of the Rehabilitation Minister agreeing to the fact that ‘rehabilitation’ is a public purpose, and therefore excess land must be being given to the original land owners or be used for their rehabilitation and the Supreme Court verdict is in no way an impediment to this.”

Simpreet Singh of the NAPM said the government’s ‘reluctance to give anything in writing’ and its ‘feeble follow-up’ led Ms. Patkar to go on a fast.

“In yesterday’s [Saturday’s] meeting Satyanarayan alone was present. She said she only handled the Lavasa project, whereas we had discussed a whole lot of issues with the Ministers earlier. We thought that there was no point in going ahead like this.”

Groups of displaced, project-affected people have been protesting at the maidan since October 14. A delegation had met Mr. Kadam, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R.R. Patil and Revenue Minister Narayan Rane. They demanded that surplus land be used expressly for rehabilitation, compensation be given and ‘land grab’ through underhand dealings probed. In this meeting, the government had assured them of a probe, but nothing came of it.

Heirs of lands for the Tata dam in Maval and Mulshi talukas, acquired as per the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (LAQ), are awaiting their dues even after a 100 years. Delays, discrepancies and deceptions abound in the six projects in Pune, Yavatmal and Narmada dams, Lavasa and Sahara city projects, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and slum demolitions in the city.
Survey numbers

Many do not know what happened to their land, acquired for dams and other “development” activities. They are left gaping at survey numbers, which now belong to unlikely owners, namely builders and in two instances, a top actor.

The NAPM release said huge tracts of surplus land (land acquired but not used for projects) had been doled out “to builders, contractors, capitalists and film stars, as against a real public purpose, such as ‘rehabilitation.’”

Dnyaneshwar Namdeo Ghule of Pale Pawan taluka, Maval, near Pune has a list of land titles in the names of 30 builders.

He alleged that signatures of his father and relatives were forged to acquire the land.

In another case, Akhade, also from Pale Pawan has been battling threats and intimidation over the years over his seven acres. He alleged that guards, (claiming to be the actor’s men) on his land have been threatening to kill his family.

In 2007, his eight-year-old son was found dead in the village. The village head advised him against filing a complaint fearing a backlash.

Corrections and Clarifications

A sentence in the sixth paragraph of a report "Medha Patkar on fast in Mumbai" (October 20, 2008) was "Heirs of lands for the Tata dam in Maval and Mulshi talukas, acquired as per the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (LAQ), are awaiting their dues even after a 100 years", leading to queries on the figure 100 years. The staff reporter clarifies that the Tata dam project was constructed during the British Raj. The land acquisition process began somewhere in 1918. Land owners were reportedly displaced. They did not get their dues then, and even now, their heirs are fighting to get compensation/dues
http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/20/stories/2008102055241300.htm