Villagers to oppose land acquisition for proposed Tata project

Raipur, Apr 29 (UNI) Villagers have declared an all-out struggle against land acquisition by Tata Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on the lines of Nandigram and Kalinga Nagar.

Several villagers -- who will be affected by the proposed project -- told reporters here today that no government official would be allowed to enter the village let alone starting the process of land acquisition.

Making the statement in CPI leader Chitranjan Bakshi's presence, the villagers said a fitting reply would be given if force was used against them with arrows and sticks being used in reply of bullets and bombs.

''Acquisition will be possible only over our dead bodies,'' they said, adding that mockery was being made of the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, which provides special rights to villages and panchayats in SC areas, in the state.

Mr Bakshi announced his support to agitating villagers and said the Chhattisgarh Government was going on the path of Orissa's Kalinga Nagar and West Bengal's Nandigram.

He said villagers would never tolerate land acquisition by force and warned that the Dr Raman Singh Government would be responsible for any violence.

Recalling that several people were killed in violence in West Bengal and Orissa, Mr Bakshi said the West Bengal and the Orissa Governments had to backtrack following public agitation.

He wondered why the state government was making land acquisition prestige issue in Bastar under such circumstances.

The CPI leader alleged that the Bastar Collector was carrying out the process keeping all rules aside on the directions of the state government.

The Gram Sabhas -- on July 20, 2006, and August 3, 2006, -- had agreed to provide land for the Tata project on the condition that the Tata Rehabilitation Committee will fulfill 13-point programme presented to the government.

When no action was taken for seven months, the gram sabhas met in February 2007 and decided not to grant approval for land acquisition.

Under the proposed project 5,500 acre land in 10 villages has to be acquired affecting 1,750 tribals and other families.

Tata had agreed to provide Rs one lakh per acre for double-crop land, Rs 75,000 per acre for single-crop land and Rs 50,000 per acre for barren land.

UNI