UP revenue board holds meeting over farmers’ demands
After these four meetings, chairman Dube will prepare its report and submit the same before the UP government that will decide about the farmers’ demands
NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh revenue board chairman, Rajneesh Dube, on Thursday held a meeting with Noida authority officials to finalise a report about farmers’ demands related to their residential area ‘Abadi land’, residential plots, and hiked land compensation among other issues.
The revenue board chairman heads this committee, formed by the state government before general elections in order to appease the farmers who were protesting to press for their demands of better rehabilitation facilities and additional land compensation against their land that was acquired for the planned development in Noida.
Chairman Dube, the Noida authority’s chief executive officer Lokesh M, the Yamuna Expressway industrial development authority (Yeida) CEO Arun Vir Singh, and other senior officials attended the meeting held in Sector 6 board room.
The chairman sought details about farmers’ demands, particularly the 10 percent developed residential plots that are supposed to be allotted to the farmers against their land acquired earlier for the development.
“One of the key demands of the farmers is to get 10 percent of total land acquired for their residential usage. The Noida authority has already given 5% land to each eligible farmer. But they want additional 5% residential plots for their families. We have provided all the required details to the committee for further progress on this issue. Now the committee will do the needful in this regard,” Lokesh M of Noida authority told HT.
The committee has already held three meetings to discuss this issue. In this fourth meeting held on Thursday, the chairman has got almost what is needed to prepare a final report about farmers’ demands, said officials.
After these four meetings, chairman Dube will prepare its report and submit the same before the UP government that will decide about the farmers’ demands. Once a decision is finalised, the Noida authority will implement the same, officials informed.
The Uttar Pradesh government is likely to take a decision on the issue after the ongoing LS elections are over, said sources.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had on February 21 formed a three-member committee to address grievances of all famers whose land was acquired in the Noida and Greater Noida areas.
The decision came following the protests by farmers from Noida, and Greater Noida villages as they had been protesting in January and February this year, demanding 64.7 % hiked land compensation, better rehabilitation facilities for their families, permission to use residential plots for commercial purposes, jobs for their children and better healthcare facilities among other benefits.
Earlier, Meerut division commissioner Selva Kumari, Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Maneesh Kumar Verma, and officials of Noida and Greater Noida had discussed the farmers’ demands in detail at a meeting held in Sector 6.
They discussed how much land the Noida and Greater Noida authorities will be requiring for the residential usage if they will have to allot the 10 percent (of total land acquired of each farmer) of land for the residential use of each farmer whose land was acquired in the twin cities.
Also, the Noida and the Greater Noida authorities figured out how much financial burden a decision will put if the hiked 64.7% compensation is granted to all farmers.
Currently, the Noida authority gives 5% and Greater Noida 6% of total land acquired to each farmer for residential use. But the farmers kept demanding more and organising the protests for the last many years. Also, they demand 64.7% additional compensation for all instead of only to those, who filed writs in high court or the Supreme Court.
The UP government had to announce formation of a committee after the farmers had announced to protest outside the Parliament in Delhi if the state government would not take measures to address their issues.
The committee has already discussed the issues with the farmers and also with other stakeholders before reaching a final conclusion. It had a mandate to submit its report in three months before the state government, said a UP government official.
Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh had also demanded formation of the committee so that the demands of the farmers could be addressed.
“We had a word with the UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the UP industrial development commissioner Manoj Singh demanding that a committee must be formed. Following the discussions, the government formed a committee…We raised this issue because Noida, Greater Noida and Yeida including Noida airport is becoming a reality only because the farmers of this region have supported the development and given their agricultural land to the government,” he said.