The farmers claimed that the administration “cheated them” in the name of acquisition. (Representational)OVER 40 farmers were taken into custody Monday for protesting against the compensation provided by the administration in lieu of land acquired for the upcoming Jewar Airport. The farmers are demanding a higher financial compensation.
Police, however, denied that the protests were linked to the airport agitation. Police claimed the farmers were being led by a group of people who wanted to put pressure on the administration over demolition of illegal structures in a village in Jewar a few days ago.
“Some farmers were moving towards the Jewar toll plaza Monday morning to stage a protest. Before they could reach, 45 farmers were taken into custody after being challaned under IPC Section 151. They will be produced in the lower court, after which they will either be released on bail or kept in jail. The protest was essentially motivated by reasons other than compensation,” said SP (Rural) Gautam Budh Nagar Ranvijay Singh.
The farmers claimed that the administration “cheated them” in the name of acquisition. “We have been protesting against the airport for the past one year. Our demand that we be granted four times the compensation has not been met. Our land was declared urban, which robbed us of our benefits as rural farmers. We have also not been given the 20% compensation in terms of land as due. Our protest will continue even as most of our brothers continue to be arrested,” said Rakesh Thakur, a farmer.
For the first phase of the Jewar Airport, the Gautam Budh Nagar administration has already acquired 707 hectares of land. This has been handed over to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority for further development.
The tender for the construction was issued in May and the bidding process is set to be completed by November.
B N Singh, Gautam Budh Nagar DM, said: “The person leading the protest has already placed a query in the High Court, which is being deliberated upon. The party concerned decided to disturb law and order in the region instead of waiting for the court’s decision. Action was taken to maintain peace. The process of land acquisition is going smoothly.”
