Living in the dark shadow of the bullet train

land dues

Two hundred farmers from six villages in Palghar (Jalsar, Wirathan, Shelke, Marde, Tembikhodwe and Wirathan Khurd) claimed that their land was acquired by the Land Acquisition Officer at rates much lower than what land owners in Gujarat and Palghar were getting.

Kamalakar Patil of Tembikhodwe in Saphale taluka, one of the 22 rice farmers who did not accept the proposed compensation, claimed that 8.70 guntha of his 53 guntha land was under assessed. ₹18,000 per Guntha, which was not at par with what others were paid. “In 2018, when the survey was conducted, we were told that we would get five times the price of our land, but we were not told that this amount would be as per the green zone rate,” he said. Farmers don’t even know what this is.

Kamlakar also claimed that the government had not yet given him anything in writing on the quantity of land acquired. “They told me that only 8.70 gunthas would be acquired, but they have taken 15 gunthas of land without giving compensation for it,” he said.

Madhavrao Patil, another farmer with adjacent land, had the same complaint – that 4.70 gunthas of his land had been acquired by the government, but the project took away another 10 gunthas of land where he used to farm prawns during the monsoon. “Besides, stones and debris thrown on the surrounding land have made our fields barren,” he said. “We have not been able to do farming for the last six years and have had no work since then.”

Madhavrao said that apart from 22 of them, others were forced to accept the compensation offer under threat and compulsion.

The farmers of Agri-Koli community of Saphale, who have rejected the compensation, have visited the Collector’s office several times and have also protested in front of the Land Acquisition Officer. When asked, official Tejas Chavan said, “We have surveyed the land and given compensation. If farmers have objections, they can approach the mediation committee.” Madhavrao said, what is easy to do is easy to say. “Every farmer must submit ₹3 lakh for arbitration, which we do not have,” he said. “This is our ancestral land and we have nothing else to leave to our future generations.”

land grab

Vasai-Virar land mafia also joined the game to get a share of the lucrative bullet train. Pelhar police had recently booked a gang of eight for defrauding a 54-year-old tribal woman, Maya Padam Chavan, of a huge sum. ₹Rs 21 crore – These people fraudulently acquired his ancestral land in Virar East and embezzled the compensation amount. Police suspect that this case is just the beginning.

“Vasai-Virar has been a playground for land mafia for the last 15 years,” said Krishi Sena leader Kailash Patil. “This mafia consists of influential people with connections to the police and officials who, through force or by luring vulnerable tribals with money, obtain their signatures and transfer their lands in their names.”

When HT met Maya Chavan at her small mud house in Vasai West, the elderly woman simply said, “They took away everything from me, even my hope.” For the past 22 years, Maya and her husband Padmam Kalya Chavan (58), a daily wage labourer, have been living in Gautam Nagar doing household chores and odd jobs to make ends meet.

Maya told HT that her grandmother, Sitabai Krishna Madhavi, a freedom fighter, was allotted 113 gunthas of land in Mauje Mor in Palghar district and her name was recorded in 7/12 extracts (land records). The names of Maya’s father, two uncles and aunts were recorded after his death. After the death of Maya’s father, the names of her mother, her two brothers and her sister and cousin came into the 7/12 record but Maya’s name was left out.

“One night in July 2018, eight men came to our house. That’s when everything changed,” she said.

Umesh Rana, who appeared to be the man in charge, told him that the Bullet Train was about to pass through this land, and while the names of several of his family members appeared in the 7/12 extract, his name was missing, and he would lose a lot of money. They then assured him that they would get his name duly registered, and to facilitate the process, he would have to give thumb impressions and sign the documents. The very next day, he convinced Rana to give him power of attorney (POA) to make things easier for him and his family members, and got a notarized irrevocable POA (which cannot be canceled or changed) in July 2018.

In an elaborate move, Rana first filed an appeal with the Sub-Divisional Officer, Vasai, to re-register the land in the name of Maya and her family members and in 2019, their names were added to the 7/12 citation. Rana then took her Aadhar card and other IDs, and persuaded her to open a new bank account for the money, which, he said, was arriving soon. He took her to the bank and activated her account; But instead of entering her mobile number on the form, they entered the number which was in her name but they had. Claiming that the railway department needed to deposit the signed check to facilitate deposit of funds soon, they took his signature and his ATM card.

In late January 2020, Maya learned that several individuals had received compensation for land acquired for the Bullet Train project. “My husband and I then went to the sub-divisional office, where we were told that ₹Rs 20,95,24,715 were deposited in my bank account,” he said. ”We immediately went to my bank, where we learned that this amount was credited to my account on January 10, 2020. However, since January 13, all the money had been withdrawn or transferred, and as of May 29, 2020, the total. ₹Rs 20,88,50,000 were deposited in Rana’s bank account.

A distressed Maya and her husband met Rana and others at his office at Don Street in Nalasopara. The men shamelessly told her that they had worked hard to raise money for her, and that she would soon get her share, but not if she filed a complaint. Maya nevertheless lodged a formal complaint against Rana in the office of the Sub-Divisional Officer, Vasai.

“Once we did that, the accused promised to pay my money soon and prompted me to withdraw the complaint application,” Maya said. “But they just gave us ₹Rs 25 lakh through cheque. When my husband demanded the remaining amount, Rana and his gang got the police to file an FIR against him and other relatives at Vasai police station on charges of extortion and threats. My husband spent 30 days in jail while I spent in jail ₹Rs 60,000 for his bail and a promise to withdraw my complaint against Rana.”

Santosh Bhoir, a resident of Chandrapada, Virar, also suffered similar losses at the hands of the land mafia. On January 21, 2025, he learned that five acres of his 350-acre property in Chandrapada, Juchandra and Khoprepada had been encroached upon. “When we protested, around 70 people came and beat us up,” he said. “We called the police helpline but instead of helping, the police dragged us to the police station and ordered us to compromise. They rejected our complaint and instead asked us to send a written application.”

Then Bhoir took account of his entire property and found that the land of Khoprepada had been sold by his cousin to the mafia. “I have now contacted the tehsildar and collector and will contact the Economic Offenses Wing,” he said. “We are ordinary farmers and do not have the clout like the accused. “They bribe officials, encroach on the land without the consent of the owners, and then forge documents to prove their ownership.”

land mafia background

Social activist Sushant Patil said that the accused in the case used to sell tea leaves, but was engaged in land grabbing for the last 15 years with the support of the authorities, especially the police. “They rarely encroach on land illegally,” he said. Usually they have some documents of purchase. “They promise to the seller ₹1 crore but will have to pay only in the end ₹10 lakh or less. No one can stand before him because of his dominance.”

Social activist and Congress party member Ravi Bhushan said, “Land mafias, in collusion with officials and police to protect their interests instead of land owners – who are generally illiterate tribals – have encroached on forest lands, taken over salt fields and converted agricultural lands into townships.”

Aditya Chalke, a social activist who helped Maya Chavan approach the police and lodge an FIR with Guardian Minister Ganesh Naik, said, “When I investigated, I found that each accused has at least five to six cases of assault, attempt to murder, criminal intimidation and many other cases registered against him in police stations in the Vasai-Virar area. I am now contacting more victims who have been duped by this gang.”

officers respond

When contacted, Milind Patil, ACP in Mira-Bhayander-Vasai-Virar EOW, said that Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik had handed over the case to him and they were taking it seriously. “We have just started the investigation and are currently recording the statements of Maya and her cousins,” he said. “We have also received some applications from other landowners who claim to be victims of the accused. This supports the allegation that the eight people are part of the land mafia, which is currently being verified. They are absconding.”

When questioned, the MAHSR (Bullet Train) spokesperson said, “We do not deal directly with land owners. This is done through the area land acquisition officer. We transfer the compensation amount to the collector, and the money is distributed through revenue officials.” Land acquisition officer Tejas Chavan, on his part, said that his office had nothing to do with the fraud. “The woman (Maya) came to our office, signed the documents which we verified, and only then we transferred the money to the account given by her,” he said.

House damaged by blasting

46-year-old Vatsala Moreshwar Ladve, who lives in house number 193 of Kairaipada village of Saphale, gets a shock when blasting work is done for the bullet train construction work. His house is one of the ten houses where the owners had to vacate the premises due to damage caused by the blasting work. Ladwe, a fisherman woman, said at least 500 other houses were damaged in Saphale and Dahanu.

In a structural audit conducted by villagers in 2026, it was found that Ladwe’s house, although less than 10 years old, was in bad shape, with large cracks in the walls, pillars and foundation. The report clearly mentions that the structure was affected by vibrations from the ongoing blasting work for the Bullet Train in the surrounding areas.

Ekadashi Patil, owner of a house in the same village as Ladve, said, “It has been a nightmare. We live in constant fear of our house collapsing. We have nowhere to go and no money to shift.”

Kailash Patil said houses in Viradhan, Kirai Pada and Jalsar villages were damaged by the massive explosions. “The authorities concerned have submitted false reports regarding the condition of these houses, and are consequently declaring less compensation,” he said. “Given that the actual damage is substantial, we urge the government to conduct a structural audit of the affected properties and provide appropriate compensation to the villagers.”

Land acquisition officer Tejas Chavan said 10 damaged houses were being surveyed and officials were in touch with villagers in this regard.