The Times Of India, 13 Feb 2014, Vadodra: When chief minister and BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi inaugurates the swanky state transport (ST) depot complex on Friday, one family in Vadodara won’t be celebrating.The family members, who owned the land on which the ST depot complex has come up in Sayajigunj, expressed sadness over the project and said that the depot was built on the woes of the family.Nikitin Contractor, whose grandfather owned the land, told TOI that the acquisition was made to serve public and not earn profits. “The Congress government took away our land forcibly in 1960 under the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and offered just Rs two lakh. My grandfather Pirozshah Contractor challenged the government compensation amount and the case went on for 26 years. We had to face so many difficulties during the legal process,” Nikitin, who is convenor of Friends of Israel, Vadodara, recalled.”The lower court ordered the ST Corporation to pay Rs 14 lakh towards compensation but they challenged it in the Gujarat high court. The HC fixed up compensation amount to Rs 9 lakh but the case went to Supreme Court. We finally got Rs 8 lakh in 1988 but my grandfather and father had died by then,” Nikitin said.”Our land was used by the ST Corporation for near three decades without paying any money. This was all done by the then government in the name of public purpose, but the corporation faced massive losses. And now the government will earn profits from the public-private model. I am fine with the development, but it shouldn’t be done by snatching away properties,” he said. Web: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/Landowners-lament-comme…