Part of the cattle farm where the Nano plant will come up

Sanand, Oct. 11: The first rumblings over the Nano in Sanand have been heard with a group of farmers near the project site staking claim to the land, saying it belonged to their forefathers.

Around 23 farmers of Khoda village, near Chharodi where the small-car plant is to come up, have sent a legal notice to the Gujarat revenue department saying the land of the Anand Agricultural University given to the Tatas was once theirs and had been leased to the government.

“Our forefathers had given the land to the British on a 99-year lease in 1902 to then governor (of Bombay presidency) Lord Northcote to preserve the Kankrej breed of cows during famine. Now we want this land to be returned to us,” said the farmers’ leader, Mukeshsinh Vaghela.

The farmers claimed that since the “lease period” had ended, they were the “rightful owners” of the land, which should either be given back to them or they should be paid compensation according to the current market rate.

The government has acquired land outside the farm near NH 8 at Rs 45 lakh an acre. The price of land in the peripheral villages is hovering around Rs 25 lakh an acre now, but real estate agents say the price is going up daily following the Nano relocation from Bengal’s Singur.

There are seven villages around the agriculture university’s cattle farm where the plant is to be relocated. The farmers of four hamlets — Khoda, Bhod, Amareli and Modasar — are staking claim to the 1,100 acres given to the Tatas. But so far, only Khoda’s farmers have taken any action.

Advocate Ashok Yagnik of Gujarat High Court has sent a notice on behalf of these farmers to the revenue secretary and Ahmedabad district collector. Hareet Shukla, the Ahmedabad collector, said: “I have not received such a notice yet, but we will send a reply when we get one.”

Shukla asserted the government had the records to prove the land was in its possession. “The farmers’ compensation claims are unfounded. We have all necessary records to prove that the land in question belongs to the government.”

But the farmers are not convinced. “Why don’t they show us the document, if they have one?” Vaghela said, adding that the farmers would move court if the issue was not resolved. “We may even resort to a hunger strike,” he said, resonating what Mamata Banerjee had threatened and carried out over the Singur plant.

Shukla said the land was taken on lease by the British in 1889 and in 1911, the farmers were paid compensation of Rs 2 lakh. “We have documents to prove that compensation was paid. The government is not required to pay any further compensation,” he said.

The farmers are miffed that the government did not discuss with them before handing over the land to the Tatas. “We have been completely sidelined,” said Vaghela.