Kalwa farmers seek 15% of Mafatlal land

Thane: Hundreds of citizens, including farmers from the predominantly Kalwa-Kharigaon region, held a dharna in front of the district collectorate here on Tuesday demanding compensation for their lands on the lines of the one given to the Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in Navi Mumbai.
The agitators demanded that they be given 15% of land in lieu of their plots instead of 12.50% and it should be given to those farmers from Kalwa- Kharigaon.
The agitation was led by Dashrath Patil, who is also leading the agitation for the naming of the New Airport after DB Patil. Jaganath Patil, former MP, was present at the site, among others.
The lands pertain to the ones acquired for Mafatlal company and those being cultivated presently by the farmers, the agitators pointed out.
Consequent upon the purchase of the land belonging to Mafatlal Company, the farmers from Kalwa-Kharigaon have become landless. They need to be compensated adequately for their lands, he demanded.
Patil told the media that of the 197 acres of land of the company, structure had come up on 70 acres. He traced the history of the land belonging to Mafatlal company which is now shut and the legal journey which it went through.
He said that already a demand has already been put up before chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to give land on the lines of the one given to the farmers in Navi Mumbai and in keeping with the reports of the committee set up for the purpose.
As regards the Khar Lands in Kharigaon, he said that if the government fails to take appropriate decisions now itself, then the land may be grabbed by land sharks and neither the farmers nor the government will get it, he said.