In the courtyard of a small temple in Roja Yakubpur, one of the villages embroiled in a land acquisition dispute in Noida Extension, a couple of hundred farmers gathered on Monday to put forth their demands in front of Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) CEO Rama Raman. This public meeting came after the Allahabad High Court?s advice to GNIDA and the farmers on July 26 to try for an out-of-court settlement by August 12. In the two-and-a-half-hour meeting with the villagers from Roja Yakubpur and other small adjoining villages, there were many a moment when furious villagers confronted the CEO with sharp questions and allegations of exploitation at the hands of the administration.
These public meetings kick-started on Sunday when Raman visited Patwari village, where the land acquisition was spiked by the high court last month.
Addressing the farmers, Raman said the authority was seeking their cooperation in ironing out all outstanding issues. He asked the villagers to form a committee of 5-11 members which would work out a ?concrete proposal? in consultation with the villagers and then sit with GNIDA officials to thrash out the modalities based on the villagers’ demands. ?We are looking to make a policy for the villages. The committee which you choose and send will help us in making that policy while addressing your interests,? he said.
The farmers, on their part, put forth their terms and conditions to work out a settlement. Apart from the obvious demand of a hike in compensation at which the land was acquired, there were other demands like increasing the developed land which has to be returned to the farmers, and allotting this land in developed sectors. Other major concerns that were raised by the farmers included the issue of abadiland, which Raman described as ?mostly addressed?. Negating media reports, Raman told FE that talks with other villages, including Patwari, were still on and far from any resolution. Raman would be visiting other affected villages in the next few days.
Farmers were visibly upset that Raman was tightlipped on their demand of enhanced compensation for the acquired land. When land was acquired using emergency powers for these housing projects in 2008, it was acquired at the rate of R85 lakh per hectare, while it was sold off to developers at more than 10 times that rate. ?Our main and fundamental issue is livelihood and fair compensation, and the CEO just didn’t talk on this subject. It just seems a superficial and a cosmetic exercise,? said Inder Naagar, a local farmer leader. Many others alleged that setting up a five-member committees in various villages was just an eyewash.
Raman later told FE that GNIDA is not in a position to comment on compensation as that comes under the purview of the state administration. However, he seemed keen on giving back more developed land, apart from the regulation 6%, to the farmers in place of the compensation, taking into account the high debt of the GNIDA, which currently stands at R3,500 crore. ?We are open to discuss all demands and concerns. And giving back more developed land is certainly an option that we are considering seriously. If we fall short of land, we do not mind scrapping a few sanctioned housing projects, which might fall in the zoning of the land while deciding what portions have to be returned to the farmers,? said Raman. Other issues that came close to compromise between GNIDA and the farmers were on the mechanism for redistribution of the abadi land, wherein Raman agreed in principle to having a lottery based allocation so as to ensure just distribution among the farmers, rich as well as poor. Also, he also seemed amicable to a proposal from the farmers that their families should be allocated small plots of land instead of one big consolidated plot. Even rehabilitation of landless farmers was discussed and Raman also agreed to take it up at a serious level. However, farmers seemed unfazed and adamant to pursue the issue of enhanced compensation, in tune with the prevailing market rates. ?We would compromise on extra land if enhanced compensation is not given to us. Even then, we won’t settle for anything less than 20%, and not just the paltry 6% that we are supposed to get anyway,? said Devendra Tyagi, former pradhan of Roja Yakubpur, who moderated the meeting of farmers with Raman.
