PACKAGE 5: Village communicators : The link between MSRDC and beneficiaries

The Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg Project has painted an assured picture of how the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions will directly get connected to metropolitan Mumbai through the scheme. The proposed highway scheme is also set to change the face of the underdeveloped rural Maharashtra. The Interchange at Shivmadka in Nagpur is going to be the starting point of the highway. The proposed highway passes through many villages in Thane district in Package 5, and the assigned village communicators have been successful in fulfilling their role of meeting the various landlords to provide them with information about the scheme and attending to their various queries about the same. This is a quick review of the role of these village communicators in the scheme…

As a part of Package 5, about 68 kilometers of the proposed highway will pass through Thane district. Specific land from 41 villages in Thane will be brought into use for the purpose of the scheme. The village communicators primarily completed the task of meeting the various landowners whose land comes under the purview of the scheme, and fully explaining the scope of the project to them.

During the joint land measurement survey the communicators successfully executed the all-important responsibilities of gaining the trust of the landowners, involving them in the process of the scheme and converting any opposing views into positive agreement by providing them assurance through the right information about the project.

After the joint land measurement survey was completed, a lot of the land owners had doubts and questions regarding the method of calculation for ascertaining the area. On such occasions, these communicators appointment by the MSRDC ensured that these queries were communicated to the Government level or even to the relevant Administrative Officers.

Around 30 communicators were appointed in Thane. In order to ensure proper co-ordination with the administration, MSRDC had also appointed District Managers and Supervisors. The team of village communicators in Thane district in Package 5 is working towards appropriately resolving the queries of the landowners during the land procurement process.

The village communicators have been instrumental in obtaining the consent of the various landowners. Additionally after getting their consent, the team has helped in creating Search Reports until the completion of the actual purchase of land and has guided the landowners about the requisite documentation from time to time, and still continues to do so. Due to the positive contribution by the communicators the land owners are at connected and at par with the vision of the Samruddhi Mahamarg project. With the help of these communicators in Thane district, the MSRDC has managed to purchase the average of 68% of the land to be procured in Package 5 till 2 June 2018.