M A I N   N E W S

Greater Noida braces for another court verdict on 1,700 hectares
Sandeep Yadav/TNS

New Delhi, July 24
While the courts this month have already ordered the return of over 800 hectares of acquired land in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh to farmers, builders are waiting with bated breath for the Allahabad High Court to pronounce judgment on 1,700 hectares of land, also in the Greater Noida area, this week.

Noida (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority) and Greater Noida Authority were held guilty of selling land acquired for industries to real estate builders. While setting up industries would have fulfilled a “public purpose”, for which the land was acquired, the land could not be diverted for private use, held the Supreme Court on July 6 while upholding an Allahabad HC judgment.

Since then, the Allahabad HC has quashed the acquisition of 589 more hectares of land on July 20. The two authorities had paid a compensation of Rs 7 lakh on an average per bigha to the farmers but are accused of selling the land at Rs 2 crore a bigha to the builders.

Emboldened by the orders, more farmers, even those whose land was acquired eight to nine years ago in the area, are planning to move the court for ‘higher compensation’.

“We are not against development. All we are asking is better price,” says almost every protesting farmer. One of the farmers in Shahberi village, Shamsuddin, however, is more forthright. “It is nothing but greed. Nobody would buy land here for even Rs 50,000 a bigha till a few years ago. Even fertile land in the villages of Muzzafarnagar and Meerut can be bought today for Rs.2-4 lakh a bigha. But thanks to the projects coming up here, we received Rs 7 lakh for the same land, which was deemed handsome at that point of time.”

Even small farmers received Rs 50 to 70 lakh in compensation at that time while the bigger ones got several crores. “Yes we are greedy. If the government and builders can be greedy, why can’t we be greedy and look after the interests of our children,” says a belligerent Shyam Vir Yadav of Patwari village. While Yadav is clearly waiting for a windfall, others like Jaiveer Singh are worried because having already spent the compensation, they are in no position to pay it back to the authorities, if they decide to restore the earlier position.

Taking a cue from the villages of Noida Extension, farmers of around 24 villages located on either side of Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, whose land was acquired about seven years ago, are now planning to move the Allahabad High Court for higher compensation. According to information, even if these farmers managed to get a stay, the ongoing development work in sectors 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 113, 116 and 117 of Noida will be hit.

While farmers are rejoicing and investors are apprehensive about their hard earned money, builders are hoping for some way out. According to Anil Sharma, Vice-President (NCR), Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), the state government and farmers should reach some agreement and, if necessary, more compensation should be paid. Construction activities of more than 20 builders and close to 50,000 housing units have been stalled by the Shahberi and Patwari village decisions, he admitted.