Former sarpanch Sudhakar Joshi presented documents obtained under RTI at the gram sabha, which he said exposed the government’s plans to withhold key information about the defense expo.
He pointed out that besides the infrastructure and logistic requirement in terms of land and access to the site for the expo, the government also has plans to build a runway for the aeroplanes.
He reasoned that building a runway would entail widening of roads in the village, which are narrow, and as such additional land would have to be acquired for the runway.
Stating that runways usually have a massive radius demarcated around it where there can be no movement or activity, he said this would affect the village.
It was highlighted at the gram sabha that the land meant for the defence expo was originally acquired for setting up an industrial estate to create jobs for local youth. However, diverting this land for hosting the defence expo would deprive the local youth of the promised jobs. As an example, the ONGC project was cited, where the locals have been deprived of jobs that they were promised when acquiring land.
The villagers threatened to intensify their protests if the government does not withdraw its plans for the defense expo, stating that they would come onto the streets.
Pledging his support to the villagers, Sarpanch Krishna Sawant said that the issue should not be fought on party lines but unitedly as it affected all sections of society.
He reiterated that the land was acquired to solve the issue of unemployment and there was nothing to gain from the Central government project.
The sarpanch feared that the defence expo would add to their existing problems, such as poor water and electricity supply. He also feared that establishing the defence expo would change the demography and culture of the village.
