Villagers of Chharodi say British govt had taken land on 90-year lease from their forefathersAfter having failed to get any concrete assurance from the state government, farmers agitating against the transfer of 1,100 acres of land in Chharodi village to the Tata Motors have decided to move the Gujarat High Court.They will challenge the government's decision on the ground that the land in question did not belong to the government and had been wrongly appropriated by the latter through mutations in the land records.Speaking to Newsline, Mukeshsinh Vaghela, who is leading the agitating farmers, said he has consulted an advocate who would file a case on behalf of them within few days.According to Vaghela, in 1902, the then British government had taken the land on a lease of 90 years to protect cattle of a particular breed facing extinction due to severe drought. The land was later given for research in agriculture to the Anand Agriculture University.So, he said, the use of land was not changed while transferring it to the university, as it also used the land for agriculture purposes. After the lease period expired, the land should have been given back to the descendants of the original owners, but the government did not do so.He further said the government instead gave it to the Tatas for non-agricultural use, which is in violation of land acquisition and transfer rules and regulations. After the expiry of lease period, the government should have consulted the original owners before allotting it to anybody.He demanded that the government should compensate the original owners of the land. “That is why we have decided to move the court, because we have failed to get justice from the government in this regard,” he said.Meanwhile, the Tatas have begun construction of an approach road to the site of their plant for Nano.
