GNIDA files affidavit, seeks more time

The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) filed an affidavit in the Allahabad High Court on Friday on the Patwari settlement and sought more time for settlement with all farmers in Patwari village and awarding compensation to them.

According to the affidavit, the authority had reached a settlement with 530 farmers in Patwari till Thursday that includes 56 of the 91 petitioners from the village. GNIDA has sought more time to reach a settlement with other farmers, as the process is extremely time-consuming: It has to hear each farmer and verify and reconcile his land records.

On July 26, while hearing a petition from a farmer in Patwari, the Allahabad High Court had directed the Greater Noida Authority and the farmers to find an out-of-court settlement in the land acquisition row by August 12. The court will hear the case on August 17 with other cases where land was acquired using the urgency clause.

Over 650 farmers out of the 1,400 eligible had taken higher compensation till Thursday.

An estimated 80 per cent of the farmers had accepted compensation till Friday. Patwari villagers had initially rejected the settlement reached last Saturday, which provided a 65 per cent rise in compensation for land, two per cent more developed land in lieu of their acquired land and resolution of all abadi land-related issues.

The settlement with Patwari farmers could be the basis for settlements with farmers in other 10 other villages in Greater Noida, which constitutes an affordable housing hub called Noida Extension. The Allahabad High Court had quashed land acquisition in Sahberi and Patwari villages and petitions from other villages are pending in the court.

The land row has derailed projects in Noida Extension, where 225,000 apartments are being constructed at an average price of Rs 20 lakh. Around 100,000 of these units have been sold to buyers, who have paid, on an average, 30-40 per cent of the cost of these flats though financial institutions have suspended disbursements of loans.