Hazira villagers block the railway line of AM/NS India alleging illegal encroachment on village road

Surat/Hazira (Gujarat): Authorities at ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) were on high alert after the villagers of Gundardi Falia in Hazira village blocked the company’s railway line passing through the village on Wednesday, claiming illegal encroachment on the village road.

About 50 Gundardi Falia villagers sat on a dharna on the AM/NS India railway track, demanding that the company show the legal documents for the acquisition of the village’s land and the State Government’s permission to lay the railway line for transporting goods.

Villagers claim that a member of the Hazira village panchayat, Sanjay Dahya Patel, alias Sajlo, is working for the company. He (Sajlo) is threatening the villagers that if they do not agree to their demands, the panchayat will take away all basic amenities, including the supply of potable water.

The villagers are threatened by Sajlo and others for not raising their voices against the dumping of waste material in Gundardi Falia. A member of the village panchayat, Sanjay Patel is acting as the ‘Super Sarpanch’ and keeps all the duly signed letterhead of the village sarpanch in his custody.

According to sources, Sanjay alias Sajlo is a steel slag contractor who works with another major contractor, Janak Shantilal Patel. For many years, the duo has earned crores of rupees by selling waste material in Hazira. The duo works hand in hand with many companies in Hazira and has seized the land of innocent villagers in exchange for allowing waste disposal.

Janak Patel owns many upmarket commercial properties and land parcels in Surat, Kamrej, Valsad, and Navsari worth crores of rupees, while Sajlo owns many luxurious cars and a plush bungalow.

“AM/NS India stopped a road leading to the village a few months ago,” a Gundardi Falia villager said. Despite repeated requests and pleas, the company has refused to show us the land documents. However, we sat on a dharna on the company’s railway track. The village panchayat owns the road on which the railway track is being built. Who gave permission to build a railway track and use our village road to dump steel slag?”

“A couple of years ago, there were over 2,500 villagers in Gundardi Falia. Today, we have less than 400 people left in the village. This is all due to the illegal dumping of steel slag and  forced possession of the land and houses. Now, they want us to leave the village so that they can operate freely” said a villager.

According to villagers, the dumping of steel slag in the surrounding land at Gundardi village has lowered the village level. Every monsoon, the village is flooded with waist-high water, making movement difficult for the villagers due to waste dumping.

Villagers blame the Hazira village panchayat for stealing the village road and allowing the company to build the railway line. “We filed an RTI with the village panchayat to find out who granted the permission, but they are unaware,” a villager explained.

“It is the villagers of Gundardi Falia who have blocked our railway line,” said an AM/NS India spokesperson. Our freight movement has come to a halt as a result of the protest and dharna, resulting in massive losses for the company. We are willing to work with the villagers and discuss and present documents on any issue raised by them. The company has been supplying potable drinking water to the entire Hazira village for many years.”

“The railway line was laid after the permission and acquisition. We have all the land documents and it is available online” said the spokesperson.