Congress leader Raj Babbar on Thursday accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of “forcibly acquiring” land from farmers for a proposed international airport in Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Jewar.
An international airport is proposed to be developed in Jewar. Over 1,300 hectare of land from five villages — Rohi, Parohi, Dayanatpur, Ranhera and Kishorpur — is to be acquired during the first phase of the project. A total of 5,000 hectares of land is to be acquired for the green field airport estimated worth ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 crore. “The BJP government is forcibly acquiring land from farmers for making an airport in Jewar . The new land acquisition act, which was made due to efforts of [Congress national president] Rahul Gandhi clearly says that the government cannot acquire land from farmers without their will and proper compensation. Today I witnessed this ‘sarkaari dadagiri’ in Jewar,” Mr. Babbar tweeted. BJP leader MLA Dhirendra Singh said Mr. Babbar’s statement was motivated to “capture space in the press” but his government was committed to “ensuring development” in the region.