22 November Friday

MAHARASHTRA: Joint Convention against Modi’s Pet Bullet Train Project

Ashok DhawaleUpdated: Friday Jun 8, 2018

ON June 3, 2018, a large convention  against the proposed Mumbai-  Ahmedabad bullet train, a pet elitist  project of the BJP’s Modi government  that will lead to disastrous land  acquisition from the peasantry in both  Maharashtra and Gujarat, was held  at Palghar by the Bhoomi Adhikar  Andolan (BAA). The joint organisers  were the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS),  Kashtakari Sanghatana, Shoshit Jan  Andolan, National Alliance of People’s  Movements (NAPM), Gujarat Khedut  Samaj, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and  others. All political parties that were  prepared to publicly oppose the bullet  train project were invited. 

The well-attended convention was  addressed by Dr Ashok Dhawale and  Arun Mehta (Central Committee  members, CPI(M), Nawab Malik  (former state minister, NCP), Neelam  Gorhe (MLC, Shiv Sena), Kedar Kale  (Congress), Avinash Jadhav (MNS),  Ramakant Patil (Shoshit Jan Andolan),  Brian Lobo (Kashtakari Sanghatana),  Ulka Mahajan (Sarvahara Jan Andolan),  and Krishnakant Chouhan (Paryavaran  Suraksha Samiti, Gujarat). It was also  attended by many other people’s  representatives and leaders of mass  organisations. 

All the speakers gave a commitment  that their parties and organisations  would oppose the bullet train project  and the Mumbai-Vadodara expressway  project tooth and nail and would ask  their MPs and MLAs to oppose them  in both parliament and assembly. A  resolution was passed unanimously  by a show of hands that not an inch of  land would be given by peasants for  these anti-farmer and pro-corporate  projects of the Modi regime.
 
WHY THE OPPOSITION? 


The bullet train is being opposed for  several valid reasons.  Firstly, 612.19 hectares of good  agricultural land in Gujarat, 398.91  hectares in Maharashtra and 7.52  hectares in the union territory of  Dadra and Nagarhaveli will be acquired.  A considerable part of this land is  cultivated by adivasi peasants. This will  lead to loss of livelihood of thousands  of families.

 Secondly, the economics of the bullet  train is suspect. The average plane fare  from Mumbai to Ahmedabad is around  Rs 2000. The bullet train fare has been  announced as Rs 3000 but it could well  increase. Feasibility studies say that the  fare cannot be lower than Rs 5000. 

Thirdly, the project has a whopping  cost of Rs 1.10 lakh crore, of which Rs  88 lakh crore will be a loan from Japan,  of course repayable with interest. This  total amount is three times the current  health budget of the union government. 

Fourthly, it will help only the  Indian corporates and their Japanese  counterparts and the contractors  lobby. The corruption and kickbacks  to the ruling party are self-evident.  The project is a clear case of collusion  between corporate interests and state  power.

 Fifthly, this white elephant is  being proposed when the entire Indian  railway system is in crisis. The series  of railway accidents, neglect of safety  concerns, the lack of modernisation, the  privatisation drive, declining amenities  show the totally skewed priorities of  the rulers.

 Lastly, the elitist nature of the  project is clear. It will cater only to a  small section of the rich, and even that  is doubtful given the economics cited  above. It is nothing but an attempt to  showcase vanity projects and convey a  sense of false prestige to cover up the  abysmal failure of the BJP government  of Narendra Modi on all vital fronts over  the last four years. 

SNOWBALLING PROTESTS 


The opposition to the bullet train  and other similar projects has been  snowballing during the last one  year. On August 9, 2017, a huge joint  rally was held at Talasari in Palghar  district by different groups against the  proposed land acquisition for the  bullet train, expressway, Delhi-  Mumbai Industrial Corridor and so on. 

The massive Kisan Long March  from March 6-12, 2018, took this up  as one of the issues, to which the state  government assured in writing that  there would be no forced land  acquisition for these projects. However,  soon after, notices and threats began.  On March 14-15, the first state  conference of the BAA was held at  Palghar and it resolved to oppose  these projects. As per the call of that  conference, on May 17, thousands  of farmers including adivasis held a  protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on  this and other issues. 

One of the biggest protests against  the bullet train and the expressway  took place last month on May 3 at  Dahanu in Palghar district. The  CPI(M) and AIKS held a 35,000-strong  Nirdhaar rally.  Both in Maharashtra and in Gujarat,  peasants from several villages have  begun their resistance. Officials coming  to conduct surveys for the bullet train  have been driven away. The gram  sabhas of several affected villages have  passed resolutions opposing any form  of land acquisition for the bullet train  project. This united struggle against  the Modi-led BJP regime will surely  be intensified in the days and months  to come.   
 

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