Gujarat Farmers Protesting Against GPCL Land Acquisition Seek ‘Ichha Mrityu’

Since December Last year, farmers from 12 villages in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district have been agitating against the land grab by the state government’s Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL). On April 24, raged with “forcible acquisition of land”, a total of 5,259 villagers, comprising of farmers and their family members have written letters to the President, the Prime Minister and the Gujarat Chief Minister seeking permission for ‘ichha mrityu’ (right to die).

“GPCL and Gujarat government want to usurp our land, despite the land legally belonging to the farmers. What shall we do in such a situation? If we do not have cultivable land, we shall be as good as dead,” the letter stated.

Between 1993 and 1995, 1,355 hectares of agriculture land from the 12 villages of Gogha taluka, Bhavnagar district was officially acquired by the government and a compensation of Rs 48,000 per hectare for non-irrigated land and Rs 72,000 per hectare for irrigated land was paid to the farmers. While the plan was to establish a thermal power plant and develop lignite mining site on the land, the plant – Bhavnagar Thermal Power Plant (BTPP) was commissioned in 2017, and the remaining land (lignite mining site) was held by the farmers all these years.

Farmers argue that though the GPCL had acquired their land nearly two decades ago, they have been possessing and cultivating the land (excluding the BTPP site), which was their main source of livelihood. In this case, as per the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, farmers claim that the acquisition must be made afresh for the land they have been possessing. On the other side, the government and GPCL authorities are arguing that they have already paid compensation to the farmers for the land and have recently begun work for developing lignite mining sites over there.

In February, 93 farmers from Badi village, one of the 12 affected villages, approached the Gujarat High Court, claiming that the GPCL land acquisition was lapsed according to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and demanded fresh procedure for acquiring land.

Anand Yagnik, lawyer representing the farmers was quoted as saying: “The petition states that under section 24(2) of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, in a scenario wherein consent awards were passed five years prior to the commencement of the Act of 2013 and if compensation hasn’t been paid or physical possession has not been taken, the acquisition lapses and land is to be returned to the landowners.” In this case, the consent accord was passed in 1997, based on an agreement between the villagers and GPCL representatives.

The farmers want the court to decide the matter. “The Gujarat High Court is seized of the matter. The company did not start mining in last 20 years. Why this hurry all of a sudden? All we want from the company is that it waits till the HC decides our petition,” Kanaksinh Gohil, who is leading the protesting farmers was quoted as saying.

Farmers’ resistance

On April 1, thousands of farmers assembled and protested when GPCL attempted to begin mining work with police protection near Padva and Badi villages of the district. Police authorities resorted to lathi charge and tear gas shell firing, in their attempt to remove the protesters, including children and women from the mining site. Reportedly, 50 farmers were arrested (later released on bail) while 10 others were injured on that day.

Earlier this month, Bhavnagar district authorities imposed prohibitory orders including Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in the affected villages from April 9 to April 18, in an attempt to facilitate the GPCL to acquire the disputed land.