All farmers to get hiked 64.7% land compensation: Yeida

The decision is likely to benefit hundreds of farmers, whose land was acquired before 2017 in districts including Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras and Agra

GREATER NOIDA: The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) has decided to give hiked 64.7% land compensation to those farmers whose land falls outside the master plan-2041, officials said on Friday.

Officials said that Yeida has realised that the previous government had bought the agricultural land before 2017 in many districts, where it did not have any immediate plan to use the same for any purpose of planned development. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Notably, earlier, Yeida had not given the hiked compensation on the ground that this land is outside the master plan. But following its board decision, the authority will take this land making it a part of the master plan development.

The decision is likely to benefit hundreds of farmers, whose land was acquired before 2017 in districts including Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras and Agra ignoring the fact that this land was not included in the authority’s development zone for immediate development, said officials.

However, Yeida is not as yet aware how much land falls in this category and how much total amount the authority needs to pay to farmers in the hiked compensation for the land, they added.

“We do not know how much acres of land it is that was bought directly by the authority in the past without realising the fact that this is not for immediate usage for any planned development project. And this land is outside the master plan-2041 that is being followed for development along the Yamuna Expressway. The board’s this decision is to ensure that the farmers do not suffer and they get what they deserve for their land at par with other farmers, whose land is falling into the master plan zone,” said Arun Vir Singh, chief executive officer, Yeida.

On April 24, 2001, the Uttar Pradesh government had established Yeida for development of areas between Greater Noida, and Agra to set up industries to generate employment and develop urban areas. Around 200,000 hectares from 1,187 villages of six districts — Gautam Budh Nagar, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura, and Agra — were notified under Yeida.

However, the authority has been able to acquire only 20,000 hectares along the expressway to allot the same for development. And Yeida continued to directly buy land from willing farmers, who want to give their land for the development.

Officials said that Yeida has realised that the previous government had bought the agricultural land before 2017 in many districts, where it did not have any immediate plan to use the same for any purpose of planned development.

The CAG report (submitted in 2024-end) raised many instances where Yeida acquired land without an immediate requirement or a clear utilisation plan, leading to significant financial blockages.

For instance, in Village Jahangirpur, Yeida acquired over 53 hectares of land against a requirement of just 35 hectares for a sub-station. The excess land, acquired at a cost of ₹93.05 crore, remains undeveloped to this day.

Even the CAG in its recent report submitted to the UP government in December, 2024 said that Yeida had acquired the agricultural land without any need for development.

The comptroller auditor general (CAG) in its audit conducted from 2005 till date of Yeida found out that it violated the rulebook, took arbitrary decisions and caused revenue loss of at least ₹8,125.52 crore to the state-exchequer.

In 2018, the CAG began auditing of Yeida after Yogi Adityanath government in 2017 made such an audit mandatory.

The audit has established that Yeida forwarded acquisition proposals for villages outside its planned area under master plan-2031, resulting in a loss of ₹4.92 crore due to subsequent withdrawal of these proposals.

This decision, taken without ensuring financial feasibility or alignment with the master plan, underscored a lack of strategic planning in the authority’s operations, officials said.

Yeida officials said that they want to give hiked compensation to these farmers because they were not at fault, and thus, they deserve to get what other farmers got.