Manesar farmers again hold protest against acquisition of land

Around 200 farmers from Manesar on Wednesday held a protest against the acquisition of 1,810 acres in Kasan, Sehrawan and Kukdola villages by the state government and said acquisition of the land in Kasan at the rate of 91 lakh per acre was an “injustice” to land owners as the market rate was nearly 10 crore per acre.

The protesters said if the government does not listen to their grievances and pay them compensation at the market rates, then they will launch a major agitation on October 9 in Pachgaon.

“We have had multiple meetings with the chief minster on this matter but the government has not made any offer that is favourable to land owners. We have demanded a freehold plot of 1,200 square yards for every acre acquired, apart from the monetary compensation. If the government would not listen to us, then we will launch an agitation on October 9,” said Satdev Kaushik, sarpanch (village chief), Kasan village.

The farmers gathered around 11am at Rajiv Chowk and marched to the mini-secretariat — some of them were shirtless and wearing shackles to symbolise their helplessness — where they sat outside the offices and protested against the land acquisition and the failure of the government to heed their demands.

Moti Lal, another protester, said the patience of farmers was wearing thin, and if the government doesn’t listen to them, then they will launch a major agitation on October 9.

Later, the protesters submitted a memorandum to the district administration listing their demands.

Vishram Kumar Meena, additional deputy commissioner, Gurugram, who accepted the memorandum, said meetings are being held with land owners to resolve the issue. “Multiple meetings of the land owners with the chief minister have been held on this matter. The last meeting was held on September 22 and detailed discussions were carried out. The solution will come through deliberations,” he said.

A senior government official said another meeting in this regard will be held again in Gurugram soon.

The process to acquire 1,810 acres in Kasan, Kukdola and Sehrawan villages began in 2011 but the matter got tied up in litigation soon after. In 2020, the Punjab and Haryana high court vacated the stay on the acquisition after which the acquisition process resumed. On August 16 this year, the district administration fixed rates between 70 lakh and 91 lakh per acre for the land.

“We have been protesting since the past three months and their agitation will complete 100 days on Thursday,” said a protesting farmer.