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Farmers in Raigad district use satellite imagery to prove that their lands are fertile, thus thwarting a state government move to acquire their lands for the development of the Maha Mumbai Special Economic Zone at cheap rates by claiming it was not productive land
In yet another instance of information technology coming to the aid of farmers, agriculturists in Maharashtra have used Google Earth -- which earlier caused a storm for showing up sensitive areas of India -- to save their land from being sacrificed for the development of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Indian politicians' latest prescription for economic growth.
The satellite imagery offered by the service have provided farmers in Pen taluka in Raigad district , 140 kms from Mumbai, with the facts to back their claims about the fertility of their land.
Four months ago, the farmers were told that the Maharashtra state government would be acquiring their land to build the 25,000 acre Maha Mumbai SEZ. They were also told that since only a small portion of the earmarked land was fertile and some parts of it were submerged by salty creek water, their lands would fetch them a price much lower than the prevailing marker rates.
Arun Shivkar, an activist of the SEZ Hatao Virodh Samiti, then had an inspired idea. He logged on to Google Earth whose satellite pictures clearly indicated that the 'submerged' parts were in fact fertile crop areas. The farmers could now substantiate their demands for higher compensation. "We used Google technology to prove to the authorities that the land is fertile," said Shivkar.
Enthusiasm over the discovery has been contagious -- it has brought together farmers from 45 villages to put up a common front and protest the acquisition of their land by unfair means.
Source: www.ibnlive.com, October 11,
2006
www.moneycontrol.com, October 11, 2006
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