Jewar airport: 1591 more farmers give consent

NOIDA: Amidst unconfirmed reports of about extension to procure requisite 70% consent for the 1264 hectare land required for the first phase of the proposed Jewar airport project, the district administration is continuing its work on getting more farmers on board.

On Saturday, 1591 farmers gave their consent in this regard and acquisition of 597 hectare land was completed.

“We are continuing the process of land acquisition on a daily basis and more and more farmers are coming on board. Today the grand total stood at 1591 farmers with 597 hectares acquired,” said Abhay Singh, deputy collector, Jewar.

The district administration, which is working overtime to get the requisite 70% consent from a total of 8300 farm owners, is working at two levels. While the district administration facilitates the consent taking process at Jewar SDM’s office, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Authority (YEIDA) also receives applications in its Greater Noida office. In the evening, the total data is compiled on a daily basis to arrive at the grand total.

The government needs consent from 5810 farm owners to meet the target. Earlier, the state government had announced August 31 as the deadline to get the requisite consent of farm owners. But now with no official confirmation on the extended deadline, officials continued the daily land acquisition process and refused to comment on the deadline issue.

“I am not aware of a deadline and have not received any directions from the state government on it,” said BN Singh, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.