Raigad Guardian Minister Uday Samant has assured that 461 farmers affected by the CIDCO project will be given priority land allocation under the 12.5% scheme. Samant made this commitment in response to a suggestion by Independent MLA Mahesh Baldi during today's session in the state legislative assembly.
Baldi, along with MLAs Prashant Thakur, Amit Satam, and Manisha Chaudhary, presented a compelling proposal during the ongoing winter session in Nagpur, seeking justice for the victims of the CIDCO project.
In 1980, the CIDCO administration acquired thousands of acres of land from farmers in 95 villages for the Navi Mumbai project. It was decided that 5% of the plots would be allocated to the project victims. Subsequently, the government decided to allocate 12.5% of the acquired land in the developed area to CIDCO.
Delay in allotting plots to farmers
Despite this decision being made 25 to 30 years ago, CIDCO has yet to allot plots under the 12.5% scheme to approximately 461 affected farmers in Karanjade and Dronagiri nodes. CIDCO claims a lack of available plots, but at the same time, allocates 22.50% of plots in Ulve to builders and businessmen in Navi Mumbai, who have purchased undeveloped areas in Chanje, Mativali, and Belondakhar for financial gain, according to the new government circular.
The farmers, who sacrificed their agricultural land for the project without any provision for their rehabilitation by the CIDCO administration, have lost their means of livelihood. This situation has led to widespread discontent among the farmers and citizens of the region.
In response to Baldi's demand for urgent action, Minister Samant, who also serves as the Industries minister, assured the House that the 461 project-affected farmers would be given priority land allocation in line with the 12.5% scheme. He also pledged to investigate and take appropriate action in case any written complaints are received regarding doubts raised about the plots allocated to developers.
