Noida Airport: CM’s emotional appeal, compensation hike propel turbulence-hit land acquisition

TIL Desk/National/Noida/ An emotional appeal from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and a promise for increased compensation has once again propelled the upcoming Noida International Airport’s land acquisition from farmers who had denied consent for the project.

The first phase of the greenfield airport, billed to be India’s largest upon completion and costing an estimated Rs 29,560 crore, is under development in the Jewar area in western Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar district, some 75 km off the national capital Delhi.

But the mega aviation project of the UP government appeared to have hit turbulence earlier this year when a section of farmers from the six villages, whose land is to be acquired, denied consent to give up their property in lieu of compensation, according to officials.

The officials said land for the second phase development of the airport is to be acquired from six villages — Ranhera, Kureb, Dayanatpur, Karauli Bangar, Mundrah and Birampur. According to The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the consent of at least 70 per cent of land owners is required for acquisition.