Kamlesh Devi (60), a resident of Kishorepur village located adjacent to the site of the upcoming international airport in Jewar near New Delhi is worried about her future.
“I came to this village about 40 years back after getting married. I spent all my life here but I am told that we will have to leave this place as the land here has been acquired for a new airport. We will now have to relocate to a dedicated sector outside Jewar town. It is hard to leave your home and memories for good,” Devi told Moneycontrol.
Devi is among the villagers whose lands have been acquired by the authorities for the construction of the airport and will have to relocate in the next one year. They will be given land on Jewar-Palwal road.
The locals of villages say they not only have to relocate to other places but also there are no jobs for them.
Rahul Sharma, a resident of Ranhera village near the upcoming airport, said the facility is not beneficial for locals and demanded that people whose lands have been taken should be given jobs along with the money.
“Farmers not only gave their lands but also their homes in the villages for the airport project but what they get in return is only peanuts. A fake narrative is being created that locals create nuisance. Locals are not being given jobs at the Jewar airport site. Those who had opted for jobs in lieu of money against their land have been waiting for employment for the last three-four years,” Sharma said.
'No use for locals'
Surinder Singh (40), a resident of Kishorepur, said that the airport is of “no use for locals” as they not only have to leave the place but are also not being given work at the construction site.
“We have to leave the village in a year or so. Local lads want to work here and contribute to the construction of the airport but authorities engaged in the construction do not hire local people saying they may create nuisance. This is wrong. First, our agricultural lands were acquired and now we are not being given work. We are forced to work as labourers in nearby towns,” Singh said.
Another resident of Kishorepur village, Vishnu (25), said that he was happy when the announcement of the new airport was made but his happiness was short-lived when local workers were not engaged in the construction work.
He said that the government had announced that thousands of jobs will be created but the irony is that locals are not being given work here.
“They refuse us the chance to work even as labourers there as they say we may create nuisance. This is not fair,” Vishnu said.
Ilias Ahmad (53), who runs a poultry shop in Kishorepur village and lives in Jewar, said that he has been given a year’s time to relocate his shop to somewhere else.
“This shop is my sole bread and butter and if I shift it to somewhere else I will not be able to make as much profit as I make it here. I will have to start from scratch to keep surviving. The government should provide some support to residents and shop owners whose establishments have been snatched away,” he said.
Authorities' take
Arun Vir Singh, CEO, Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), said YEIDA had entered into an MOU with Zurich International Airport, which is the concessionaire, to provide jobs to those people, who have not taken the money for their lands in lieu of the employment.
“There are around 398 people who have not taken money in lieu of employment. The concessionaire is bound to give regular employment to them once their recruitments start, and it will happen very soon in the second half of 2023. As far as the Tata construction company is concerned, which is the contractor of the Zurich company, we don't have any commitment with them. So some communication gap is there,” he said.
YEIDA and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) each have a 12.5 percent stake in the Yewar airport while the Noida Authority and the Uttar Pradesh government have 37.5 percent shares each.
The airport, to be built over four phases at an estimated cost of around Rs 30,000 crore, will spread over more than 1,300 hectares, according to officials. The first phase of the airport is to be completed by September 2024.
The compensation
Singh said there is a provision in the Land Acquisition Act 2013 that either you take employment or you take Rs 5.5 lakh in lieu of the acquired land.
“About 90 percent of people have preferred to take money in lieu of their acquired land. But even if they have been compensated, we are very open that local people, after getting their skills upgraded, should be given jobs,” he said.
According to officials, the land acquisition in the first phase was done at the rate of Rs 2,300 per square foot. Locals, whose lands were acquired, were also given an additional sum of Rs 5.5 lakh per adult member of the family. They were promised jobs at the Jewar airport if they do not take the additional monetary benefit of Rs 5.5 lakh.
In the second phase, the land is being acquired at the rate of Rs 3,100 per square foot.
As many as 1,334 hectares have been acquired in the first phase of the airport and land acquisition for the second phase has begun. As many as 1,365 hectares of land will be acquired in the second phase, for which a Social Impact Assessment study is underway.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 25, 2021, laid the foundation stone for the Noida International Airport at Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, about 100 kilometres from New Delhi.
At the foundation laying ceremony, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the aerodrome at Jewar will create one lakh jobs.
According to Yamuna International Airport Private Ltd, the international airport in Noida will set a new benchmark for digital airports by implementing state-of-the-art technology to facilitate seamless and mostly contactless travel through the airport.