Following a massive protest rally in Navsari district over the survey of agricultural land for a highway project under the Centre's Bharatmala project, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Thursday ordered a halt to the survey work till the issue is resolved.

Angry farmers from over 50 villages of tribal- dominated Navsari district Thursday converged at Chikhli town to register their protest against the Bharatmala project, as one of the roads connecting Surat with Nashik and Ahmednagar (in Maharashtra) would pass through Navsari district.

Asked about the ongoing protest against the proposed land acquisition in the region for the project, Rupani told reporters in the neighboring Dang district that the work for the project has been halted.

"We have halted the ongoing project work(survey). Nothing is going on right now. We will take an appropriate decision to make sure that people do not face any problems," Rupani said Thursday.

"As of now, the ongoing work has been stopped. We will make sure that injustice is not done in land acquisition process for the project," the CM added.

The protest rally by local farmers and tribals in Chikhli was led by Congress MLA Anant Patel, who represents Vansada seat of Navsari district.

According to the legislator, the survey was being carried out without the knowledge of farmers or even local revenue officials.

"The survey was being carried out for a highway connecting Surat with Nashik and Ahmednagar of Maharashtra under Bharatmala project. This project would affect over 60 villages, mostly of Vansada and Chikhli talukas," Patel told PTI.

"We have organised this massive rally to give a message that tribals will not give their land for any such projects. We will not give up our land at any cost.

"We have also warned the authorities to stop the survey work," said Patel.

He welcomed Rupani's announcement suspending the ongoing work.

Bharatmala is one of the biggest highway construction projects in India. It was cleared by the Union Cabinet in 2017.

Under the project, major commercial hubs of the country would be connected with a web of highways and connecting roads.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)