A Singur in Uttar Pradesh? No way, says Samir Gaur, director of Jaypee Group, which won the development rights for the Rs 40,000 crore, 1047-km Ganga Expressway that would traverse from Ballia on the eastern fringes of the state to the national capital region in Greater Noida.
With the group kicking off its land acquisition plans by submitting its proposal to acquire land from 17 villages of Bukandshahr in its first package to the UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority, the ball has set rolling for the highly ambitious project. It may be mentioned that a staggering 30,000 acres of land has to be acquired along 17 districts.
The alignment plan for the project has been finalised and given in-principle approval by the government after roadblocks regarding the alignment at Narora and Varanasi were cleared. While the alignment in Narora had to be shifted slightly due to the Narora atomic power station as well as a dolphin sanctuary, a turtle sanctuary near Benaras was the reason why the alignment had to be changed before being approved by the state government.
What would be a balm on the shaky morale of India Inc, Gaur said that he did not foresee a Singur-like impasse happening in Uttar Pradesh. ?Already, we have 70 survey teams on the ground, preparing a detailed project report and our nodal offices in all the 17 districts are working round the clock on the designing aspect. Once the government clears our proposal, we will start acquiring land and also make sure that we do not have any situation of strife here, for we have always striven to take everyone along with us. We would make sure that we convince the peasants of the benefits of the projects and explain to them the way development can change life for the better for them, too.?
When asked what could be the solution to growing opposition of farmers, which is acting as a severe deterrent to industrialisation in the country, Gaur was of the opinion that the farmer must be made comfortable and taken along on the path of development. ?Land is definitely a scarce commodity and the only way to ensure food security for the farmers. Hence, all efforts must be made to give him a good price for his piece of land.? On the issue of coming out with more innovative compensation packages like employment, partnerships and shareholding, Gaur seemed open to it and said the company is keenly studying on all the other patterns of compensation that could be offered to the land owners. ?We would follow the Central government?s resettlement and rehabilitation policy and do all that is possible for the displaced farmers,? he added.
Simultaneous to the process of acquiring land, the company is also in talks with many national and international construction firms for the construction of the four packages that the project comprises of. The project has been divided into four individual packages of road sections. It may be mentioned that the state government has an ambitious plan to develop the Expressway as the industrial development corridor of the state. ?The Ganga Expressway project will not only be a highway, but would provide us with ample space and opportunity for developing SEZs along its 1,047 km stretch,? said a senior government official.