Rs 5L relief offer in village key to airport project

Greater Noida: Those who turned 18 on or before April 15, 2020, in Jewar Bangar village will be considered for rehabilitation compensation of Rs 5 lakh. Land acquisition in Jewar Bangar to relocate over 3,600 people affected by the Jewar international airport project is expected to be notified in a day or two, officials said.
The district administration has set August 15 as the deadline for completing the acquisition of 48 hectares in Jewar Bangar to develop a township to house those directly affected by the airport project. A total of 592 families comprising 1,323 members are likely to be impacted by land acquisition in Jewar Bangar. Selected as the concessionaire, Zurich AG has been given time up to August 17 to complete formalities in order to begin work.
Additional district magistrate (land acquisition) Balram Singh said that Rs 5 lakh would be paid to every adult member of a family in Jewar Bangar.
“The cut-off date to decide the eligibility for rehabilitation compensation has been kept as April 15, 2020, since that was when we had notified Section 11 for Jewar Bangar. Apprehensions of the villagers about an earlier cut-off date have been resolved. The file to notify acquisition of required land parcels in Jewar Bangar is pending before the chief minister and is expected to be cleared in a day or two,” he said.
Last month, the administration had convened a meeting of local villagers to sort out their grievances. A committee comprising nine members, out of which six were non-government officials, was also constituted to ratify the objections and suggestions of the villagers.
Resident of Tirthali village in Jewar, Mozzam Khan who was part of the committee had raised the issue of cut-off date. “The government paperwork takes a lot of time. By that time, a minor aged 16 or 17 turns adult. But they are considered ineligible for getting Rs 5 lakh. We faced a lot of such problems in Rohi, Kishorpur and Dayanatpur villages that would be completely uprooted,” he told TOI.
While majority of people are into farming, in the rehabilitation and resettlement report finalised for Jewar Bangar, concerns of villagers over loss of livelihoods have also been taken into account. Officials said they would consult the villagers on finding a solution on the matter within the next fortnight before the land acquisition is initiated.
Though Zurich AG has been given time up to August 17 to fulfil all formalities in order to begin work, sources said, it is likely to be awarded an extension again if international flight movement remains disrupted due to Covid-19 restrictions.