Gandhinagar ,March 21: JD(U) Gujarat unit chief and MLA from Jhagadia (south Gujarat) Chhotu Vasava has been charged with encroaching on 800 acres of land in Bharuch district given to people affected by the Narmada project, government officials have confirmed.
The Bharuch district authorities, in a report to the state authorities, have held that the land was in possession of Vasava, also an MLA from Jhagadia Assembly seat, and that he has been cultivating it for years.
The agricultural land was allotted to over 50 Narmada project-affected families who were rehabilitated by the state government. However, they were soon driven off their lands and subsequently Mr Vasava has been cultivating cotton, sugarcane and other crops for almost two decades now, they said.
“Congress MLA Kiran Makhwana had asked in the Assembly about the land but the state government had replied that the land was in the possession of the state authorities,” Leader of the Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Shaktisinh Gohil said. “Now, there is a report by the district authorities which clearly says that the said land is cultivated by MLA Vasava,” he added.
According to Mr Gohil, after the question was raised in the Assembly, the government had asked revenue officials in Bharuch district to report to the state government regarding the status of the said land.
Subsequently, the government officials, after drawing the panchnama of the land, submitted a report saying the 800 acres of agricultural land is illegally encroached upon by the MLA, who has been cultivating it for almost 20 years now, Mr Gohil said.
Mr Gohil and other Congress MLAs have demanded that the land be taken back by the government and given to those who were affected by the Narmada project. Mr Gohil also charged the government with being lenient with the MLA. Meanwhile, Mr Vasava refused to comment when contacted, saying he was not aware of any such land.
Deepal Trivedi