As many as 307 farmers consented for acquisition of their land on September 10, 2018 – the maximum in a single day so far – for the proposed international airport at Gautam Buddh Nagar district’s Jewar, officials and MLA Dhirendra Singh said. After initial resistance by some farmers, district officials and Jewar MLA Singh, have been making regular visits to the villages where land is to be acquired for the Uttar Pradesh government’s ambitious project. The project’s cost is estimated to be between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 crores.
“On the instructions of district magistrate Brajesh Narayan Singh, the Jewar sub-divisional magistrate, Prasoon Dwivedi and revenue officer (tehsildaar) Vijay Shankar held discussions with the farmers and other locals in the villages.
“So far, 3,076 farmers have agreed for the acquisition of their 1,138 hectares of land for the proposed airport. Today (September 10, 2018), a maximum 307 farmers consented for their 87 hectares of land. This is the most (number of farmers agreeing) in a single day,” a statement from the district information office said.
See also: Jewar Airport project may be scrapped, if farmers do not hand over land: Official
Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh said consent has been given for almost 93 per cent of the land required for the phase-I development of the proposed airport. “If the landless villagers are also included, then, a total of 3,512 villagers have agreed for the proposed greenfield airport, so far,” he said. “Now, with the agreement of 93 per cent villagers, it is almost certain that work for the airport would begin soon, after following due procedures,” the legislator said.
Dhirendra Singh had, on September 9, 2018, met chief minister Yogi Adityanath at the Uttar Pradesh Sadan in New Delhi, where he had apprised him about the resettlement and rehabilitation policy for the villagers who would be impacted by the mega project. “The chief minister said the progress of farmers is a priority for our government. They should be soon rehabilitated with appropriate facilities, which should be done as per a transparent policy,” he quoted Adityanath as saying.
Land from five villages – Rohi, Parohi, Dayanatpur, Ranhera and Kishorpur – is to be acquired during the first phase. In total, 5,000 hectares of land is to be acquired for the greenfield airport, which is likely to become operational by 2022-23, if the land is acquired. Some land owners, including farmers and villagers, initially resisted the land acquisition, citing various reasons such as inadequate compensation amount and related benefits, besides the resettlement policy.
