Farmers in Padra taluka on the outskirts of Vadodara had marketed themselves as the first one in the state to opt for organic farming, exporting their herbs and vegetables to Paris and London. But all that is now a thing of the past.
The trees stand withered and the fields bare, while the farmers blame a nearby pharmaceutical company for the mess.
Incidentally, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has issued a notice to Shiva Pharmachem Pvt Ltd to close the unit, but the affected farmers believe it will be of little help. The GPCB has been issuing closure notices since 2002, but the company continues to function and their farms remain affected.
Padra is considered to be the vegetable hub of the city. The produce from these areas have gone down by more than 60 per cent over the last one decade, say local farmers. Earlier, most of the produce did not reach the city markets, as they were marketed to other states and exported.
“We were the first to start organic farming in Gujarat and also to have the first greenhouse in the state. Export quality vegetables and herbs were produced in the farms, which were sent to foreign markets. But all that stopped in 2002 when the fields were affected due to air pollution from the industry,” said Kirit Amin, a farmer in Tajpura village and member secretary of Farmers Action Group (FAG), a body of over 1,000 farmers.
Arvind Patel, a local farmer, said: “We uprooted 110 gunda trees last week as they were completely ruined. Our main produce is drumsticks, which sells at Rs 250 per 20 kg, but the produce is just 10 per cent in my field.”
Since 2002, farmers from Luna, Tajpura and Jaspur have forwarded 72 complaints to the GPCB and other concerned bodies.
Tajpura sarpanch Anil Patel said: “Closure notices have been sent many a times, but nothing has happened because they are powerful people. Our produce hardly reaches the local market. How can we expect to market them even in Mumbai when there is no mass-production?”
The industry, which had earlier started as a pharmaceutical unit, started producing chemicals, which led to the emissions of hazardous gases. According to the farmers and the locals, the emission is the maximum at night. The residents have also reported of headache, burning sensation in eyes and throat.
GPCB Regional Officer
A A Dolti said: “We have checked the factory and seen the damage to the crops because of the excess hydrochloride gas. We issued a closure notice last week and they have promised to update the system and stop the problem during the notice period.”
Similar steps were apparently taken when earlier notices were sent to the unit.
Amin said: “These are Class I land and we obviously cannot shift our fields. It is absolutely mpractical to allow permission to set up an industry within an agricultural land and that too when there is no buffer system incorporated to minimise the pollution.”
Vishal Agarwal, the chairman of the industry, did not comment on the matter.
