Collector acquiring land in Samruddhi and not MSRDC: Shinde

Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Eknath Shinde today said that the land acquisition process for the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi corridor is being done through a five member committee headed by the District Collector in Thane.
Shinde rejected the opposition demand for a judicial probe into the land acquisition process for the corridor and clarified that it is not being undertaken by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
He was replying to a short duration debate raised by MLC Sanjay Dutt (Congress) and others on the issue in the legislative council today.
Raising supplementary queries over the Samruddhi corridor, Dutt argued that officers who were facing corruption charges were entrusted with the task of land acquisition.

He further demanded that the government constitute a judicial probe in land acquisition.
Rejecting Dutt's contention, Shinde clarified "only a five member committee headed by the District Collector are entrusted with the land acquisition."

Later, while replying to a debate on a calling attention notice moved by Neelam Gorhe (Shiv Sena) over the land acquisition in Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Minister for Industries Subhash Desai contended that the farmers on their own had approached the Raigad District Collector to give their land and no farmer was forced to surrender it.
Replying to queries from Gorhe about land acquisition near Dighi port, he said the government will not force land acquisition from 10 villages near the port.

Desai clarified that the harsh clause in the consent letter that the farmers will not seek employment in the DMIC project will be removed. He said no agricultural land shall be acquired for the project.
"The government will consider enhancing the compensation for acquired land as five years had passed since the acquisition notice was issued," he said.
Desai assured the house that no more chemical industries shall be set up in Konkan region along the DMIC route.