Don’t invoke land-grabbing act in opposition to these doing unlawful shrimp farming, says BJP MLA Mukesh Patel

BJP MLA from Olpad constituency Mukesh Patel on Tuesday requested the Gujarat authorities to not invoke provisions of the lately enacted stringent Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act in opposition to ladies who misplaced their husbands and are doing unlawful shrimp farming within the coastal areas of Gujarat.
The BJP MLA added that they’ve been pressured to bask in it because the authorities did not allocate land.
Patel was talking from the ground of Gujarat Assembly whereas taking part within the normal dialogue on the state funds. Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act has stringent provisions with minimal imprisonment of 10 years and most 14 years.
“Gujarat has 1,600-km seashore and no other state in the country has such a long coastline. There is around 3.85 lakh hectare land in the coastal area of the state. Among that, around 1.55 lakh hectare is being used for farming of brackish water shrimps. Among that, only 10% land has been allocated for the farming of brackish water shrimp,” Patel mentioned.

“If this land is allocated in larger amount, then a lot of people are likely to benefit… After 2010-11, there has not been any allocation of this land and because of that people have been forced to indulge in illegal shrimp farming,” he added.
Patel mentioned that there are 17 villages from his constituency that are within the coastal area. He added that owing to lack of some other imply of livelihood, folks of those villages have been surviving on liquor brewing.
“Due to insufficient rain and lack of fodder, people have stopped keeping livestock… and liquor is being brewed immensely… After 2007-’08, people have slowly diverted to this (shrimp farming) and the level of liquor (brewing) has come to zero,” mentioned Patel whereas including that folks have been into unlawful liquor brewing out of compulsion and lack of different livelihood alternate options.
Patel mentioned that there are 1,760 widows and 423 shrimp ponds within the 17 villages falling underneath his Olpad constituency. He added that an RTI activist has portrayed the widows as “shrimp mafia”.
“Women have become widows and they are now being portrayed as shrimp mafia. Headlines are being made in newspapers that shrimp mafia have (illegally) occupied land,” Patel mentioned.

“If they (people doing shrimp farming without permission) are locals, then have it regularised on humanitarian grounds. As many as 1,760 widows and 423 ponds and a case get registered against them. The home minister is here. Never register a case of land grabbing (against them). They are poor widows. Because of (Chief Minister) Vijaybhai Rupani, they are getting (monthly) Rs1,250 from Gujarat government (as widow compensation). Through you, I request the government to survey those people and do the needful to get them livelihood,” the Olpad MLA mentioned.