Land acquisition for ring road fails to gather momentum

Nashik : The land acquisition process for the proposed external ring road project around the city, initiated in the wake of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela next year, has failed to gather momentum due to intense opposition from local farmers. The farmers agitated outside the district collectorate on Friday to draw the attention of the administration.

Over the past two months, the revenue administration has managed to acquire only 67 hectares of the total 365 hectares of land required for construction of the road being developed by the Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC).

“The outer ring road project spans a total length of 65.65 km. The project has been designed to streamline traffic and connectivity around the city before the 2027 Simhastha Kumbh Mela. The alignment of the route passes through 25 villages, including 22 from Nashik taluka and three from Dindori taluka. Following opposition from some villagers, the land acquisition being carried out through direct purchase, including 25% premium over the compensation as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013,” said the officer.

The Union and state govts have collectively sanctioned a budget of approximately Rs 7,100 crore for land acquisition and construction work. While the administration has declared land awards for 19 villages, the actual pace of acquisition has slowed down significantly after an initial momentum on March 31, when 33.5 gunthas of land were acquired in Manori village of Dindori taluka.

The slow progress is primarily attributed to growing resentment among farmers over village-wise compensation rates announced by the administration. Affected landowners have expressed concern that the current alignment of ring road will cut through fertile agricultural fields and demolish residential structures, causing extensive damage to private properties.

“The Revenue officials are not giving proper treatment to the farmers from Matori-Mungsare-Chandshi. The altercation involving senior officials from administration has led to the farmers now aggressively following the demand for revision of the current alignment to safeguard our lands and livelihoods. We held protest today on the district collectorate with the only demand to change the allignment,” said one of the farmers who agitated outside the collectorate on Friday.

The infrastructure project directly impacts roughly 1,250 land survey groupings and nearly 1,967 farmers. In an attempt to break the deadlock and resolve misunderstandings, the district administration has been conducting village-level meetings. Officials said more than 55 % of farmers have shown willingness to hand over their land through mutual consent.

“However, persistent technical hurdles coupled with localised opposition are threatening to delay the entire acquisition process. Despite the challenges, the administration has set June-end deadline to acquire the remaining 298 hectares of land,” the senior officer from the district administration said.