Drive to hear out Jewar farmers from today

Greater Noida: A team of 10 government officials will start touring the six villages from where land has been acquired for the first phase of the Jewar airport. From Thursday, five officials each from the revenue department and the district administration will talk to the landlosers and resolve issues they have flagged.
The exercise will be carried out to address the issues of 9,000 families who will have to part with their agricultural land. Zurich AG, the Swiss major that will build the airport, has already signed the final concession agreement with the UP government and is expected to begin construction next June. But before that, the Noida administration has to hand over land in Jewar Bangar village so that the families can be rehabilitated there.
Though compensation amounts have been disbursed, more than 1,500 families have raised objections pertaining to the value of their assets and immovable properties. Through the local BJP MLA, Dhirendra Singh, the families have petitioned the government to resolve their issues.
“I have come across four to five complaints after interacting with the villagers. I have compiled their feedback and names in a report and forwarded it to the district administration and the government. The villagers have supported the airport project and their demands need to be heard,” Singh said
Kanhaiya Lal, a farmer from Dayanatpur village, said, “Once we are rehabilitated, nobody will pay heed to our demands. So, it is important to get the issues resolved before we are issued vacation notices.”
Apart from the value of trees within the compound, borewells, pumps, wells and other immovable assets, Rs 5 lakh amount to all adult members, the cut-off date to decide the eligibility of an adult member, and exclusion of area where animals are tied outside the house are some of the points that the villagers have contested.
Additional district magistrate (land acquisition) Balram Singh said that the committee members had been provided with the list of villagers having grievances. “They will examine the documents of the villagers during the exercise and recommend appropriate action,” Balram said.