Protest leader Jayesh Patel told reporters that around 140 hectares of land across 21 villages were being acquired for the project. "The notification for land acquisition was issued without carrying out the mandatory environmental or social impact assessment," he said, pointing out that there had been no consultation with the local bodies before bringing out the notification.
He went on: "Legally, the District Collector needs to declare the market rate of the land for which the acquisition notification is issued." This had not been done so far. The farmers said the government had already acquired enough land for the Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor.
Patel said even Western Railways have sufficient land to take the project forward. "There is no reason why our land is being acquired now," he added.
According to theweekendleader.com, besides the Surat district, hundreds of farmers in the South Gujarat district of Valsad are also strongly opposing the acquisitions in their fertile mango and chikoo region.
