This is not the first time that the VMC has plans to evict traders from Kadak Bazar. (Representational Image)
Even as farmers in Gujarat and Maharashtra are protesting against land acquisition for the bullet train project, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has put forth a proposal before the Standing Committee to hand over 4,474.25 sq m land for the project. The said land belonging to the municipal corporation is the present-day Kadak Bazaar, which has a vegetable market and about 100 trading shops.
The VMC proposal states that the NHSRCL, the executing agency of the project, has sought the said land near the Vadodara railway station to create the terminal for the Sabarmati-Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, which will be a state-of-the-art structure. The NHSRCL has also submitted designs to the VMC for the same.
The proposal states, “As per the demand of the NHSRCL under the aegis of the Central government, it is necessary to hand over the land in the east of the Vadodara railway station, which is currently valued at Rs 47,000 per square metre, for the development project. Kindly approve the handover.”
Assistant Municipal Commissioner (Land Estate, Commercial), Suresh Tuver said that the corporation will serve eviction notices to shop owners as well as other occupants on the said land after the approval from the Standing Committee and the General Board is complete. “The NHSRCL has plans to also build a multi-story parking, along with the terminal and so the land of this size is needed,” Tuver said.
This is not the first time that the VMC has plans to evict traders from Kadak Bazar. For over five years, the proposal of the eastern part of the railway station getting a facelift has been a contention between the traders of the area and the civic body. The shops that run in Kadak Bazar were leased to the traders by the VMC in the late 1980s, according to the officer. However, since the ownership of the land is with the VMC, the civic body does not see any hindrance in the acquisition. The Standing Committee is set to meet later this week.