Manmad-Indore track land acquisition from next week

Nashik: After talks between the administration and farmers failed to conclude the rates for the property to be acquired for the construction of the Manmad-Indore railway tracks, the district administration has decided to start the process from March 23.Deputy collector, who is also the land acquisition officer, Ravindra Bharde said, "We will start the joint measurement of the land which has been proposed for acquisition in Nandgaon and Malegaon talukas from March 23. This will be done as per the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. The measurement, identification, evaluation and making payment will take four months."According to the officer the administration had been holding dialogues with farmers since June 2025 when the notification was published regarding land acquisition as per the provisions of The Railways (Amendment) Act 2008 for the tracks. The administration held discussions with them till Dec, but the farmers are unhappy with the possible outcome of the land valuation. "The farmers are demanding a rate of over Rs45 lakh per acre which is not possible given the rates of the Ready Reckoner (RR) of the land and four times the value of the land arrived at as per the Act. The demand is very high and hence the farmers are not ready to give the land," a senior official said.The official added that police protection has been sought for the process. After joint measurement, the area to be acquired will be defined and the farmers will be notified about the agricultural land parcels that will be acquired."Thereafter, the valuation of the land, house, well, irrigation facilities, agriculture crops, trees, roads if any etc will be carried out by the respective govt departments. After this is done the farmers will be notified about the final payment and if they fail to accept it the amount will be deposited with the court and compulsory land acquisition will be carried out," the official said.The track passes through six villages in Nandgaon taluka and 16 villages in Malegaon taluka of Nashik district.