50% work on social impact study for Jewar airport completed

In the report, Gautam Buddha University will mention the land required for the project, number of farmers who will be affected, economic status of farmers, the financial aspect of the project and the repercussions of the airport on the environment

The Greater Noida-based Gautam Buddha University, which is conducting social impact assessment (SIA) of villages of Jewar where an international airport along the 165km Yamuna Expressway is to be developed, has completed half its job, said the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority on Monday.

The site earmarked for the Jewar airport project. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

After the SIA is completed, the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration will start the process of land acquisition for the airport project.

In the SIA, Gautam Buddha University will mention the land required for the project, number of farmers who will be affected, the economic status of farmers, the financial aspect of the project and the repercussions of the airport on the environment.

The SIA report is a must to start land acquisition for the project. The Union civil aviation ministry, on June 24, 2017, had given its approval for building an international airport in Jewar.

“We need to finish the SIA of eight villages in the first phase to start land acquisition along the Yamuna Expressway. The Gautam Buddha University has completed SIA of four villages. And the work on the remaining four villages is on in full swing. As per the timelines, the university will finish the SIA of the remaining four villages by March 15,” Shailendra Bhatia, officer on special duty, YEIDA, said.

The SIA will involve the studying of socio-economic conditions of farmers.

“The SIA will determine how the airport project will impact the lives of the farmers who own the land where the airport is proposed,” Bhatia said.

YEIDA, in November 2017, had selected Singapore-based PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as consultants for the Jewar international airport project. PwC will prepare the techno-economic feasibility report (TEFR) for the airport project by
March 15.

The Gautam Buddha Nagar officials are closely monitoring SIA work, while the PwC work is being monitored by the YEIDA officials themselves.

The YEIDA has put the project on the fast track following instructions from UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who is of the opinion that the airport project will impact business along the expressway.