Jewar airport:Govt hikes rates for farmers’ land, but they want more

Around 2,200 farmers’ houses need to be relocated and the land of around 9,500 farmers is required for the airport project, officials said.

To pacify farmers, Uttar Pradesh has increased the rehabilitation and land compensation package it is offering them in exchange of agricultural land for an international airport at Jewar along the 165km Yamuna Expressway.

Around 2,200 farmers’ houses need to be relocated and land from around 9,500 farmers is required for the Jewar airport project. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Around 2,200 farmers’ houses need to be relocated and the land of around 9,500 farmers is required for the airport project, officials said.

Under the new rehabilitation package, the state government will give farmers Rs 2,300 per square metre; a residential plot in an urban area measuring 50% of the total residential plot belonging to each farmer; a waiver in stamp duty; Rs 5.85 lakh in cash to each farmer; and house construction fund as well as one job per family.

Earlier, the state government was giving only 50 square metres of residential plot to each farmer instead of 50% of the total abadi land (residential area) the farmer owns now. There was no waiver on stamp duty either.

The UP government, in the first phase, wants to acquire 1,441 hectares from six villages — Rohi, Parohi, Banwari Bas, Dayanatpur, Kishorpur, and Ranhera.

The government will acquire a total of 5,000 hectares for the project.

Officials said that they will acquire land only after farmers give their consent.

“Until today, around 450 farmers have given their consent to the government acquiring their land for the airport project. The revision in the rehabilitation package has encouraged more farmers to give their land,” Arun Vir Singh, chief executive officer of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida), the nodal agency for the airport project, said.

After the revision in the rehabilitation and land compensation package, a section of farmers are happy to accept the government offer.

“After hearing of the new offer, 2,200 farmers in Rohi and Dayanatpur, whose houses are to be shifted, are happy. But farmers, whose agricultural land is to be acquired, are not happy with the Rs 2,300 per square metre compensation. We demand Rs 3,000 per square metre as compensation,” Davendra Sharma, a farmer from Kishorpur, said.

As per the new offer, the government will also rope in the public works department (PWD) that evaluate the 2,200 houses to determine the cost
of construction of each new house.

“We will provide double the cost evaluated by the PWD for each house. We want to acquire each farmer’s land after a written agreement,” the CEO said.

The government had earlier offered farmers a rate of Rs 2,300 per square metre(for a 50 square metre house) and Rs 2,500 per square metre (for a bigger house); however, most farmers had been demanding a rate of Rs 3,600 per square metre.

“Now, we are demanding Rs 3,000 per square metre. If the government does not agree, then all farmers will go to the court for justice. Today, farmers from six villages took part in a meeting in Kishorpur village and decided to file a petition
in the high court if the government does not give us adequate compensation,” Ravinder Singh, one of the affected farmers, said.