New Delhi: Jewar airport in Gautam Buddh Nagar district is inching closer to reality as more farmers from the region are slowly but steadily agreeing to give up their land for the project. The number of farmers who have consented to the land acquisition process now stands at 2,135.
Sources say about 800 hectares out of the requisite 70 percent target of 860 hectares has been reached and the process should reach completion by Friday.
According to official documents, 114 farmers from Jewar Tehsil agreed to give away a total of 43.75 hectares of land on Thursday. Dayanatpur was the biggest contributor in terms of area and number of consenting farmers on the day, with 39 farmers agreeing to part with 17.5 hectares of land.
The Magistrate’s office remained non-committal over the total land acquired till now out of the 1,300 hectares required for the project. “We will only give the cumulative figure once we reach the target of 70 percent. Presently we are only sharing the total number of farmers consenting to the process,” said Prasun Dwivedi, the Jewar Sub Divisional Magistrate.
However, the aides of Jewar MLA Thakur Dhirendra Singh said the total land acquired till Wednesday stood at 750 acres. With the land acquired on Thursday, the number should now stand at a total of 793.75 hectares out of the required 1,300.
Official charts reveal that 208 farmers had agreed to give 74.58 hectares of land on Wednesday. And on Tuesday, 225 farmers had agreed to sell 76.15 hectares of land. The land acquisition numbers show a slight decline on a day to day basis.
Officials, however, remain confident about the acquisition process and expect to hit the target in the coming days. Even farmers in Jewar believe that the authorities will reach the magic number.
“After the talking to the MLA and authorities, more farmers are giving their consent. Some still have a few doubts, but I think they will agree too when they see other farmers selling their land,” said Bhagwan Singh from Rohi village. “I think they will reach 70 percent.”
Under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the authorities must get consent from at least 70 percent of the affected families in the region. Authorities have been evasive over the percentage reached till now.
“We will reach our land acquisition target by tomorrow. After that, we’ll start talking to landless families for their consent to reach the 70 percent mark,” said Dhirendra Singh.
“I have assured the farmers that they will be taken care of. I am on their side. But the airport must come to Jewar. And I will make sure their rehabilitation is according to their demands,” he added.
Singh said he was a hundred percent confident the acquisition process would reach the finish line before long.
A source in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) also said the acquisition process was on the verge of completion.
“The government already owns about 100 hectares of land in the region. The target now is 860 hectares (70 percent of the area remaining after subtracting existing government land), which will be reached tomorrow,” he said.
Comments
0 comment