Land row: Farmers want Rs 3,000/sq m

For the past several months,179.033 hectares and 142.679 hectares of land in Bhatta and Parsaul,respectively have become a bone of contention between the government and farmers.

For the past several months,179.033 hectares and 142.679 hectares of land in Bhatta and Parsaul,respectively have become a bone of contention between the government and farmers. The land which has been acquired by the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration was transferred to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) to be developed as residential sectors.

Officials say that while few farmers have been given compensation at the rate of Rs 815 per sq m for their land,there are others who have been given compensation at the revised rate of Rs 880 per sq m. The farmers are demanding Rs 3,000 per sq m. The government had prepared a new rate of Rs 1,000 per sq m,but the proposal was kept on hold after the farmers agitation, said a YEIDA official. We have demarcated residential sectors which will be developed by us, said Kuldeep Singh,OSD,YEIDA.

In Bhatta,two residential schemes were launched by the YEIDA. The administration acquired 139.716 hectares of land for one residential scheme and transferred 122.515 hectares to the YEIDA on July 14,2010. The rest of the land is under legal proceedings, said a senior official. The total number of affected farmers due to the first residential scheme in Bhatta is 338. Of these,224 took compensation for their land. The rest 94 have not been given compensation due to litigations.

The second residential scheme was launched on the land acquired at Bhatta to make the inside roads for the sectors. The land acquired for this scheme was 53.518 hectares whereas the compensation given to the farmers was for 36.28 hectares. The total number of farmers affected in this case was 168.

Of these,101 have taken compensation and 67 refused it saying that the land was a populated area.

Two such schemes were also launched at Parsaul. The first scheme is of 87.385 hectares. Out of it,the possession of 68.90 hectares was given to the YEIDA on July 14,2010. There are 210 farmers whose land has been acquired and 163 have accepted compensation. The second residential scheme is of 246.26 hectares. Land has been acquired from 1,506 farmers and 581 have accepted compensation. Others have approached the high court, said officials.