Farmers in four villages of Saudvadi, Nagao, Jaravadi and Gucharvada near Diu, refused the administration to take over the land that they have been cultivating since 1960s. Diu deputy collector and his team had come to the villages on June 12th 2018 and wanted to fence the land. On June 16th 2018, nearly 700 to 800 police personnel were deployed to take possession of the land. Around 75 farmers have challenged the collectors notice to vacate the land in Diu administrative tribunal. In 15 cases, the court has passed the order to maintain status quo while in others, the deputy collector had given an oral commitment before the court that they wont disturb the possession. There are nearly 6,000 to 7,000 people from 500 families who are dependent on this land. Farmers claimed that their forefathers were given the land by then Portuguese government for cultivation in the 1960s. The officials claimed that farmers had been served notice to vacate the land during 1984 to 1987. But the farmers say they have not received any such notices till date. The disputed land is forest land but the farmers are ready to pay the rent if the government gives them the land on lease, as they have been cultivating it for generations. Farmers cultivate groundnut, bajra, vegetables, coconut, mangoes and other fruits in the four villages. It is not clear why the Government needs this land. It is also not clear why the farmers arent using Forest Rights Act to claim this land since they have been cultivating it since 1960s.
Region Classification
Type of Land
Both
Private and Common
Type of Common Land
Forest
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Land Area Affected
(in Hectares):