Victory in the land acquisition case is inspiring farmers against middle class
After high court verdicts on cancelling the land acquistion in noida extension, other villagers to take to the courts to demand their land back. The government in Uttar Pradesh has acquired thousands of acres of land along the Yamuna River to build housing blocks, highways, airport and even a Formula 1 track. Investors in Noida extension worried about their investment, after Allahabad High Court struck down the acquisition of the land by the state authority.
The existing land act dates back to 1894. Under this, the government can acquire any piece of land for projects in “public interest” – such as hospitals, roads and other infrastructure-related projects. But, increasingly, this law is being used to sell land to real-estate developers to build apartment blocks. That’s putting poor farmers in direct conflict with the wealthy middle classes across the country.
While most villagers who had to give up land are angry their livelihood was taken away, many say the main cause of their anger is the paltry compensation offered.
While the land dispute in Sahberi is being fought in the courts, a similar dispute in the nearby village of Bhatta Parsaul turned into a bloody battle between angry villagers and the local police.
The prime minister admitted the government “needs to think afresh on the land bill”. He said he recognised land acquisition had become a sensitive issue and acquisition of prime land aroused valid concerns.
“Industrialisation is essential for our country to solve problems of unemployment and poverty,” he said.
“That process has to be equitable and one way to ensure it is so is to see that land acquisition does not become an instrument of depriving farmers of their livelihood.”
The government is planning to take up the land acquisition bill in parliament during the monsoon session beginning in July.This new bill would have specific guidelines for valuing land and a social impact study would be made mandatory before evictions.
Vikas Chauhan, 31, used his life savings to buy a one-bedroom flat in India land disputes cause strifeAmrapali Smart City, one of the many residential developments coming up in Sahberi. At a cost of 1m rupees ($20,000), the property looked perfect.
“My money is stuck in this project. I can’t buy anywhere else till they give me back my money,” he says. “I invested one year back and now all the other developers have raised their prices. How can I afford a house now?”
Meanwhile, builders are attempting to win back consumers’ confidence. The Amrapali group has offered customers an option to shift to other projects nearby. Their project, called the Smart City, had 5,700 units on 35 acres of land in the Sahberi village. Another builder, Mahagun, had sold independent villas in the disputed area and has offered customers a refund.
More than 50 developers were planning projects in the Noida Extension area. There is now uncertainty among buyers.
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