Skip to main content

Agricultural land in Dholera SIR proposed to be reduced from 47 to 12%

By Rajiv Shah 
The proposed Dholera special investment region is likely to lead to large-scale changes in livelihood patterns, as and when the plan to convert the area into an industrial-urban hub succeeds.
The “Draft Environmental Impact Assessment of Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) In Gujarat” – prepared for the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd by the Senes Consultants India Pvt Ltd for environmental public hearing on January 3, 2014 – has suggested that there will be large-scale impact on the livelihood patter in the “sparsely populated” 930 sq km area, consisting of 22 villages, which will form the DSIR, and which is proposed to be converted into a modern industrial urban township over a period of three decades. The report says, “As per the land use/ land cover (LU/LC) studies carried out for Dholera SIR, highest LU/LC class is agriculture land, constituting 47.46 per cent of the study area, comprising of fallow land (39.97 per cent) or cropland (7.49 per cent).” It adds, “Agriculture is the predominant occupation of the study area population, and 62 per cent of the main workers are cultivators.”
However, this will change with the DSIR. With the new planning in place, agriculture will be reduced to 12.8 sq km (14 percent of the total site) area. The reason why this area is being “reserved” for agricultural use is, according to the report, because there is a need “to ensure food security and reduce ‘food miles’ that is, the distance that food has to travel before it is consumed.” In fact, the impact will be felt even in the transitional period, when the DSIR starts being developed. There will be “land pooling and readjustment and re-allotment of land to the farmers after provision of infrastructure/amenities.” In the process, only “large and medium farmers will gain” from “land pooling and readjustment.” As for others, who are unable to financially hold on to the land after development due to economic reasons, “will not benefit.”
The report explains, “DSIR is being developed using the town planning schemes wherein land is not acquired but land pooling and readjustment is done where the original land owners benefit from urban development.” The readjustment would be necessary, it believes, because “most of the land selected for DSIR is not very conducive for agriculture.” It says, while “agriculture is the main activity in the region”, it is also be fact that “due to highly saline, non-fertile soil, saline ground water and rain fed irrigation, the yield is very poor.” Hence, majority of the population in the region is “involved in sustenance agriculture”, and “there is negligible demand for industrial products.”
It further says, “The soil in the DSIR is deep black soil which due to its high salinity, which makes it unfit for cultivation. It is for this reason that agriculture in this region is primarily subsistence in nature. Moreover, there is perennial scarcity of water in this region which acts as a hindrance to agricultural activities. In absence of any industrial base in the region, majority of the population is dependent on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood.” As of today, according to the report, “the farmers are dependent on rain fed irrigation for cultivating their agricultural lands”, and the “irrigated area within DSIR constitutes only 2.6 per cent of the total land.” The result is that, “the region falls under drought prone areas.”

Failure of Narmada Canal

A major reason for keeping the agricultural area under-developed, admits the report, is the “delay in the implementation of the canal network for irrigation for agricultural land in the DSIR villages”. It says, while the “villages in and around DSIR are included in the proposed command area of the Vallabhipur Branch Narmada Canal of the Sardar Sarovar Project”, it regrets, the delay in developing the command area has taken place because the “development of the canal network is proposed to be realigned and redesigned for the DSIR area.” In fact, it indidates, things are unlikely to improve soon. It says, “Construction of canal and irrigation network involves a long gestation period and therefore due to change in the same will result in time delays in providing irrigation to the DSIR villages.” The proposed realignment is taking a longer time due to the indecision on whether to supply “irrigation water from Narmada Canal through either piped supply or branched canals.”
Clearly, therefore, the report seeks to suggest, once the DSIR is developed, “traditional and subsistence agriculture currently practiced will be affected as the labour for such agriculture and traditional work will not be available due to increase in labour wages/ rates.” It adds, “Marginal or small farmers may not be viable as a livelihood or income source.” Only, “large and medium farmers will gain overall due to land pooling and readjustment”. In fact, “marginal workers who do not own land are amongst the most vulnerable to the changes brought about by urban development because they have no assets to sell and they will require particular help and assistance.” It adds, “The impact will be more on the landless and share croppers, the agricultural labourers who are dependent on land owners for their livelihood, compared to those who have large land holdings.”
As “traditional and subsistence agriculture currently practiced will be affected as the labour for such agriculture and traditional work will not be available due to increase in labour wages/rates in DSIR during the construction and post construction phase”, the report says, employment will not be dependent “only on natural resources”. Hence, only a regular income from others sources “is expected to improve the standard of living of the people.” It predicts, “Higher incomes associated with skilled and commercial activities will provide the local labour with opportunities to acquire new skills or update existing skills with a view to improve their incomes”. Out-migration due to lack of opportunities is expected to be reduced and increase in in-migration due to creation of economic opportunities.”
Giving details of the current “occupational profile of the villages in DSIR area” in order to suggest why it would be necessary for people to move over from subsistence agriculture to urban-industrial occupations, the report notes, “As rain fed agriculture is one of the major occupation types in the project villages, size of land holding plays major role in determining the state of economic activities of families. Interestingly, while smaller land holdings (up to 10 bigha) were proportionately ranged between 11.8 to 12.9 per cent in three zones, the situation was different for larger land holders (i.e. > 50 bigha land). In coastal area the large land holders constitute about 10 per cent of total families while in outer zone it was about 17 per cent. In coastal villages 60 per cent households owned-up only 3.4 per cent of total land, the same was little higher in transitional (7.5 per cent) and outer (8.5 per cent) zones.”
Against this backdrop, the report insists, “The rain fed farming and livestock rearing are the two most dominating occupation of the majority of families. Farm labour and agriculture employee are also reported in quite a substantial number in many villages. Wood selling and charcoal making are the two opportunistic occupations for some families. Proportionally more numbers of families were reported engaged in dry land farming as we moved away from the coast. Thus, in the eight villages of inner coastal zone about 65 per cent families were engaged in dry land farming, which rises to 67 per cent in transitional zone and reached to the maximum of 79 per cent in the outer zone.”
As for fishing, the report says, “it is restricted mainly in the inner-coastal zone (17.7 per cent) and to certain extent also in few villages of transitional zones (1.2 per cent).” It adds, “Clearly, there are some patterns in adoption of different occupations that is controlled and driven by state and quality of natural resources. Natural resource based occupations, which include agriculture, fishery, livestock, charcoal, forest products, salt work etc. Nearly 45 per cent workers were found engaged as unskilled farm labour while 19 per cent workers were into crop cultivation. Among the villages, in Gorasu, Mundi and Cher, between 10 and 15 per cent of total workers were engaged in livestock rearing. Similarly, in Dholera and Zankhi villages 12 to 16 per cent of total workers were found engaged in fishing activities.”
People are also engaged in other occupations but they are much smaller in number. The report says, it was observed during the house listing survey that, while “agriculture and labour works are the two most important occupations of the people of the area”, it is was also found that “quite a substantial number of families indicated diamond works as their major occupation. Service (government as well as private), trading and small business are also prevalent in the villages. Majority of families with locked houses are actually migrated to either Bhavnagar or Surat or Ahmedabad for various other works. These absentee houses are significantly contributing to the economy of these villages.”

Comments

TRENDING

देशव्यापी ग्रामीण भारत बंध में उतरे मध्य प्रदेश के आदिवासी, किया केंद्र सरकार का विरोध

- हरसिंग जमरे, भिखला सोलंकी, रतन अलावे*  15 और 16 फरवरी को निमाड के बड़वानी, खरगोन और बुरहानपुर में जागृत आदिवासी दलित संगठन के नेतृत्व में आदिवासी महिला-पुरुषों ग्रामीण भारत बंद में रैली एवं विरोध प्रदर्शन किया । प्रधान मंत्री द्वारा 2014 में फसलों की लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव देने का वादा किया गया था, 2016 में किसानों की आय दुगना करने का वादा किया गया था । आज, फसलों का दाम नहीं बढ़ रहा है, लेकिन खेती में खर्च बढ़ता जा रहा है! खाद, बीज और दवाइयों का दाम, तीन-चार गुना बढ़ चुका है! किसानों को लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव देने के बजाए, खेती को कंपनियों के हवाले करने के लिए 3 काले कृषि कानून लाए गए । 3 काले कानून वापस लेते समय प्रधान मंत्री ने फिर वादा किया था कि फसलों की लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव की कानूनी गारंटी के लिए कानून बनाएँगे, लेकिन वो भी झूठ निकला! आज जब देश के किसान दिल्ली में आपको अपना वादा याद दिलाने आए है, तब आप उनका रास्ता रोक रहें है, उनके साथ मारपीट कर उन पर आँसू गैस फेंक रहें हैं, उन पर छर्रों से फायरिंग कर रहें है! देश को खिलाने वाला किसान खुद भूखा रहे, क्या यही विकास है?

नफरती बातें: मुसलमानों में असुरक्षा का भाव बढ़ रहा है, वे अपने मोहल्लों में सिमट रहे हैं

- राम पुनियानी*  भारत पर पिछले 10 सालों से हिन्दू राष्ट्रवादी भारतीय जनता पार्टी (भाजपा) राज कर रही है. भाजपा आरएसएस परिवार की सदस्य है और आरएसएस का लक्ष्य है हिन्दू राष्ट्र का निर्माण. आरएसएस से जुड़ी सैंकड़ों संस्थाएँ हैं. उसके लाखों, बल्कि शायद, करोड़ों स्वयंसेवक हैं. इसके अलावा कई हजार वरिष्ठ कार्यकर्ता हैं जिन्हें प्रचारक कहा जाता है. भाजपा के सत्ता में आने के बाद से आरएसएस दुगनी गति से हिन्दू राष्ट्र के निर्माण के अपने एजेण्डे को पूरा करने में जुट गया है. यदि भाजपा को चुनावों में लगातार सफलता हासिल हो रही है तो उसका कारण है देश में साम्प्रदायिकता और साम्प्रदायिक मुद्दों का बढ़ता बोलबाला. इनमें से कुछ हैं राम मंदिर, गौमांस और गोवध एवं लव जिहाद. 

Only 15% businesses provide employees real-time sustainability dashboards: Study

Kyndryl in collaboration with Microsoft has released the findings of The Global Sustainability Barometer study. The study, conducted by Ecosystm, finds that while 85% of organizations place a high strategic level of importance on achieving their sustainability goals, only 16% have integrated sustainability into their strategies and data. A Kyndryl note: *** Kyndryl (NYSE: KD), the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, in collaboration with Microsoft , today released the findings of The Global Sustainability Barometer study. The study, conducted by Ecosystm , finds that while 85% of organizations place a high strategic level of importance on achieving their sustainability goals, only 16% have integrated sustainability into their strategies and data.

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das*  India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on.

Laxmanpur Bathe massacre: Perfect example of proto-fascist Brahmanical social order

By Harsh Thakor  The massacre at Laxmanpur-Bathe of Jehanabad in Bihar on the night of 1 December in 1997 was a landmark event with distinguishing features .The genocide rightly shook the conscience of the nation in the 50th year of Indian independence. The scale of the carnage was unparalleled in any caste massacre. It was a perfect manifestation of how in essence the so called neo-liberal state was in essence most autocratic. 

Tamil Nadu brahmins are at cross roads, their future scenario remains uncertain

By NS Venkataraman*  For over 70 years now, brahmin community in Tamil Nadu have been abused, insulted and even physically attacked on some occasions by those who claimed that they were part of the so called dravidian movement. However, brahmin community silently and helplessly ducked under pressure and showed no signs of resistance or fight back.

गुजरात विश्वविद्यालय कुलपति महोदया का बयान उल्टा चोर कोतवाल को डांटे समान है

गुजरात विश्व विद्यालय परिसर में विदेशी छात्रों को सांस्कृतिक संवेदनशीलता का पाठ देने की ख़बर के संबंध में विश्व विद्यालय को खुला पत्र: --- प्रति श्री, कुलपति महोदय गुजरात विश्वविद्यालय अहमदाबाद विषय- गुजरात विश्व विद्यालय परिसर में विदेशी छात्रों को सांस्कृतिक संवेदनशीलता का पाठ देने की ख़बर के संबंध में। महोदया,

અંકલેશ્વર/પાનોલી માં વાંરવાર અકસ્માત ના બનાવો બને છે એ એક ચિંતન નો વિષય છે

- સલીમ પટેલ*  પાનોલી જીઆઇડીસીમાં ઓદ્યોગિક ઘન/પ્રવાહી કચરાનું રીસાયલીંગ કરતી RSPL નામની કમ્પની આવેલ છે. જે અન્ય ઓદ્યોગિક એકમોના રાસાયણિક કચરાને રીસાયલીંગ કરવાનું કામ કરે છે જેમાં અનેક અને દુર –દુર ના એકમોનો રાસાયણિક કચરાને અહિયાં પ્રોસેસ માટે લાવવામાં આવે છે. આ દરમ્યાન 23.03.24 નાં રોજ મોડી સાંજે કોઈ કારણોસર રાસાયણિક કચરામાં આગ લાગતા હોળી પેહલા જ વેસ્ટ કેમિકલ હોળી દહન ના દ્ર્શ્યો સર્જાયા હતા અને તેમાં સોલ્વન્ટ સહીત ના ઝેરી તત્વો શામેલ હોવાના લીધે વાતાવરણ પ્રદુષિત બનતા આસપાસના લોકોમાં ભય ફેલાયો હતો. આ અગાઉ પણ ગત વર્ષે પણ પાનોલી જી આઈ ડી સી માં આગ અકસ્માત નો બનાવ બનતા કેટલાક ગામો ને ખાલી કરવાની ફરજ પડી હતી જે ઘટના ને યાદ કરી પ્રજા માં ભય નું વાતાવરણ સર્જાયું હતું.

Erroneously linked with Maoist party, activist arrested under UAPA for his bold voice

By Harsh Thakor* On Monday 11 th of March , the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of the repressive Indian State presented fabricated charges against Sanjoy Deepak Rao in the jurisdiction of a special court for the NIA in Hyderabad. Sanjoy Deepak Rao, a progressive intellectual from Jammu and Kashmir, was already arrested several times for his bold voice. Last September he was arrested again, in Telangana, this time charged of being a leader of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a party which leads the People’s War against the old Indian State.

सीएए: देश को बांटने का एक और औज़ार जब इलेक्टोरल बॉण्ड घोटाला सामने आ रहा था

- राम पुनियानी  जिस समय इलेक्टोरल बॉण्ड से जुड़ा बड़ा घोटाला परत-दर-परत देश के सामने उजागर हो रहा था, ठीक उसी समय केन्द्रीय गृह मंत्री श्री अमित शाह ने नागरिकता संशोधन अधिनियम (सीएए) लागू करने के लिए नियमों और प्रक्रिया की घोषणा कर दी. यह अधिनियम करीब 4 साल पहले संसद द्वारा पारित किया गया था. इसे लागू करने की घोषणा उस समय की गई जब इलेक्टोरल बॉण्ड घोटाला सामने आ रहा था और आम चुनाव नज़दीक थे. भाजपा की राजनीति के रंग-ढंग देखते हुए घोषणा के किए यह समय चुने जाने का उद्देश्य स्पष्ट है.