More challenges to Greater Noida acquisition

Other villagers rush to court post SC verdict, cases may be clubbed at next hearing this Thursday

Encouraged by the Supreme Court order quashing land acquisition at Sahberi village at Greater Noida, 10 other villages in the vicinity have filed petitions in the Allahabad high court, challenging similar orders by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA).

"After the Sahberi judgement, many more farmers have gone to court or are in the process of going to court. All the acquisitions were done invoking the urgency clause (the one the SC held had no business being invoked) and, hence, the authorities can’t justify it,’’ said Rupesh Verma of the Zameen Adigrahan Pratirodh Andolan.

This forum represents 60-odd villages which had lost 16,000 hectares to land acquisition.

"The land is going for urbanisation. After change in land use, the land has seen great appreciation. All we are saying is, give us the market price, and make us partners in development," said Verma.

A bunch of petitions have been filed by farmers in Bisrakh village, due for a court hearing this Thursday. Petitions have been filed by villagers in Rauja and Patwari, too. The outcome of these cases may decide the fate of Noida Extension (the name now given to the area under the 11 villages mentioned), where 250,000 apartments are being constructed at a cost of Rs 50,000 crore.

The Noida Extension area comprises Sahberi, Itaidha, Patwari, Haibatpur, Rauja, Emnabad, Tusyana, Khairpur, Saini, Bisrakh and Chauganpur. Two types of petitions have been filed by villagers in Rauja, Patwari and Bisrakh. They are different for farmers who have taken compensation and those who had not. Apart fom the Sahberi precedent, the court’s decision would also depend on the view regarding farmers who’d taken compensation. ‘‘Farmers who have taken compensation cannot challenge acquisition of land,’’ said Manoj Gaur, chairman of Gaursons, a prominent builder. However, they can seek an increase in the price paid for acquisition.

Developers and farmers say all the land in Greater Noida was acquired using the urgency clause. This is the biggest worry for developers and investors who had bought houses in the area. If this is the case, the court may decide to annul the acquisition in all the villages. The developers would then have to renegotiate with farmers and buy land at closer to market rates. This, builders say, could make these projects unviable and impact their ability to complete projects.

Given that 100,000 units have been sold at an average price of Rs 20 lakh each, banks have sanctioned Rs 20,000 crore worth of loans to home buyers, plus lent money to builders. As banks follow construction-linked payments, they would have disbursed anywhere between 30-50 per cent of the money. Buyers who have made down-payments have more to worry.