Farmers’ Spontaneous Response to Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor (MSC) in Thane District
Aishvarya Chunade
August 23, 2017
Fugale, Washala Budruk. Tokarkhand Village Farmers Offers Land Consent to MSC
MSC gets consents of total 471 hectares of land from Thane
Thane, January 13, 2017: In a historic move, a majority of farmers from Fugale, Washala Budruk, Tokarkhand villages (Thane) located 100-kilometers from here today gave their consent to the Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Express Highway popularly known as the Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor (MSC).
As many as 76 farmers from Fugale village gave their consent for their land amounting to a total of 311-hectares, 25 farmers from Washala Budruk (140 hectare), 17 farmers from Tokarkhand (30 hectare) respectively offered their consent at an event held at Fugale village today.
The farmers gave their consent at a specially arranged event at Fugale today.
Farmers from Fugale, Washala Budruk, Tokarkhand villages were demanding construction of a highway and Prosperity corridors through their villages. They had gathered in large numbers at Fugale and handed over their memorandums to Mr Radheshyam Mopalwar, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), requesting him to consider their consent and initiate the process of construction from their localities
Farmers from these remote villages were deprived of even basic infrastructure facilities till today. But after the MSC project is completed, it is expected to enhance connectivity and bring prosperity to their villages and nearby areas.
Addressing the group of farmers, MSRDC’s Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Mr Radheshyam Mopalwar said: “We are very happy to see the spontaneous participation of farmers from Fugale, Washala Budruk and Tokarkhand villages. Farmers from these tiny villages have not only created history in terms of the MSC as a project, but have also emerged as a great example of volunteer participation in the all-round development of the entire state.”
Mr Mopalwar has answered all the basic queries of the farmers and described on the various benefits to them from the MSC and the prosperity corridors on the occasion.
MSRDC’s Superintendent Engineer Dattatraya Bhonde, Thane Deputy Collector Ms Revati Gaikar, Shapaur Tehsildar Ravi Baviskar and other officials were present on the occasion.
A total 67 km of MSC is passing through Thane district. About 832 hectares of land would be required for it from Thane. Out of 832 hectares of land 250 hectares is a forest land followed by 100 hectare Government and remaining 482 hectare land accounting to the individuals and private. With the encouraging response from Fugale, Washala Budruk and Tokarkhand would speed up the process of construction of MSC in Thane District.
The government has adopted the land-pooling method wherein farmers whose land is acquired would be returned developed land in the new towns besides being given annuity for their loss of agriculture produce.
The MSC is essentially a 706-kilometre super communication expressway between the cities of Nagpur and Mumbai, connecting 10 key districts, 27 talukas and 385 villages of Maharashtra to form the East–West Axis for the entire state.
It will effectively slash travel time along this axis by half, bringing it down to a mere eight hours. Out of the 34 rural districts, 24 will get connected to the MSC.
The Samruddhi Corridor will eventually be integrated with the Golden Quadrilateral and the Western corridor to ensure seamless connectivity across the state.
In what is being viewed by many as a significant step towards providing a major fillip to the infrastructure of Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Prosperity Corridor will invite active participation of farmers in the developmental activities of the project. This development will not only offer short-term gains but also offer sustainable development that will strengthen the rural economy and agri-business eco-systems.
