GB Nagar: Farmers call off protest over land compensation after govt assurance

The DM said that a timeline has been “set for talks at the government-level to address farmers’ concerns

Noida The farmers, seeking an increased compensation against the land that they provided for development projects in Gautam Budh Nagar district, under the banner of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday called off their protest at Zero Point after being assured of a meeting with the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary in April, officials said.

The farmers group had converged at the Zero Point on Wednesday to protest and press for the demands of hiked compensation for the land they provided for development. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Sunil Pradhan, spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union-Tikait (BKU-Tikait), shared that the farmers group had converged at the Zero Point on Wednesday to protest and press for the demands of hiked compensation for the land they provided for development projects.

“On Thursday, Yamuna authority CEO Arun Vir Singh and district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma held a meeting with farmers at the authority office. We (farmers) demanded higher compensation, 10% developed land, and employment opportunities for local youth,” Pradhan said on Friday.

The DM, meanwhile, said that a timeline has been “set for talks at the government-level to address farmers’ concerns. Solving the farmers’ issues is a priority, and a meeting will take place at the collectorate office on March 23 (Sunday) to discuss them”.

On December 7, 2024, the UP government had directed the three development authorities to make a list of farmers eligible for an increased compensation in lieu of land acquired for various industrial projects and disburse money to them without further delay.

This directive followed a protest on December 2, where nearly 5,000 farmers had attempted to march toward Delhi, affecting traffic in Gautam Budh Nagar. On the following day, farmers held a sit-in protest at Dalit Prerna Sthal and several farmers were detained.

In a separate development, on Friday, farmers in Greater Noida condemned the eviction of protesting farmers from the Shambhu border, in Punjab, and submitted a memorandum addressed to the President Droupadi Murmu, at the district collectorate in Surajpur.

“For more than 13 months, farmers had been peacefully protesting at the Shambhu border for their demands. The central government was in talks with the farmers on all issues. However, on March 19, 2025, the Punjab government arrested several farmer leaders and forcefully removed them. Even elderly farmers and women present there were detained, which has led to widespread outrage among farmers across the country,” BKU-Tikait said in a press statement.