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Jewar Airport: Betrayed Once, Farmers Refuse to Trust Govt Again

First the Yamuna Expressway and now the Jewar Airport, farmers threaten to take legal action if acquisition happens.

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Lalit is still awaiting full compensation for his land which was acquired to build the Yamuna Expressway in 2009. In August 2018, government officials came knocking again. This time they wanted to acquire ten times as much land for the Jewar aiport in western Uttar Pradesh – a project estimated to cost Rs 15,000-20,000 crore.

“In 2008, when the Yamuna Expressway was built, 5 bhigas of our land was acquired. They gave us a compensation of about Rs 33 lakh and promised us that we will also get a plot, but till today we have not got any. On top of that, the Allahabad HC and the Supreme court directed that we be paid 64 percent additional compensation, nothing has happened on it yet. We do not want a repetition of the same episode,” Lalit tells The Quint while he sits in a white-walled Shiva temple protesting alongside other farmers in Dayantpura village in Jewar. This is one of six villages where the first phase of construction of the airport will be executed.

First the Yamuna Expressway and now the Jewar Airport, farmers threaten to take legal action if acquisition happens.
Lalit continues to wait for complete compensation from when his land was acquired to build the Yamuna Expressway in 2008-2009.
(Photo: Aishwarya S Iyer/The Quint)
The Uttar Pradesh government already has the consent of seventy percent of farmers it needs under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, hence despite Lalit’s reservations, 60 bhigas of his and his family’s land will be acquired to construct the Jewar Airport.
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There are 5,000 farmers who are yet to receive complete compensation from the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YIEDA).

First the Yamuna Expressway and now the Jewar Airport, farmers threaten to take legal action if acquisition happens.
The main responsibilities of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority include the execution of acquisition of land for construction and the development of the area.
(Photo: Aishwarya S Iyer/The Quint)
The delay is because the matter is sub-judice. Jaypee, the buyers of the land, have said they will not pay the additional 64 percent hike in compensation amounting to Rs 2,400 crore. This, despite directions of the 2011 Allahabad High Court upheld by the Supreme Court.

Lalit’s lack of faith in the government is mirrored by 42-year-old Rajesh Kumar whose 15 bhigas of land will be acquired. “Ten years ago we were cheated, we don't want to be cheated again. We have not signed any documents,” Kumar told The Quint.

Another to share the sentiment is 42-year-old Rishipal Singh. “If they had given us the additional 64 percent as compensation, we would have believed that they'll give it to us this time. It has been nine years and we didn't get anything. So how do we trust that they will give us compensation after taking our land today?” Rishipal said.

Lalit said if the acquisition does happen they will be forced to fight. “We don't want a repeat of what happened with us. We don't want to take rounds of court complexes and travel to Allahabad and Delhi. But this government has forced us and we will have to do it. We will have to rise against the repressive regime.”

First the Yamuna Expressway and now the Jewar Airport, farmers threaten to take legal action if acquisition happens.
Jaypee Infratech say they do not wait to pay the additional 64 perent hike in compensation.
(Photo: Aishwarya S Iyer/The Quint)

When we asked the Officer on Special Duty to YIEDA Shailendra Bhatia when the farmers would get their money, he said, “YEIDA is not a profit-making machine. It was decided that the allottee would give the money. However, Jaypee decided to challenge it. The Allahabad HC intervened and referred the matter between YIEDA and Jaypee to a three-judge bench for arbitration. In less than six months we should have a verdict.”

So it will be at least six months before the farmers get the compensation and in the meantime their resolve to go to court against land acquisition without their consent will only grow stronger.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Jewar Airport 

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