More Noida farmers to move SC

After a little over two months of lull following the Allahabad High Court’s verdict in the Noida and Greater Noida land acquisition case, farmers’ groups are set to join the existing case before the Supreme Court.

Yesterday, the apex court issued notices to the state government and the Greater Noida Authority (Gnida) as to why the recent HC ruling in the case should not be quashed. This was on a petition filed by a few farmers of Garhi Bachchera village, challenging the acquisition of their agricultural land. The SC has given three weeks to file a reply.

Farmers from at least 20 more villages (Saini, Itwari, Bisrakh, Haibatpur and Patwari, among others) are preparing to file their own petitions in the apex court over the coming days. Some said they were ready to return the additional 64 per cent compensation that Gnida had started giving. “The whole battle was about our land and the authority does not seem to have plans on that front”, said Balraj Yadav, a farmer from Patwari.

A hearing is also listed for tomorrow on a petition filed earlier by Badalpur villagers, wanting their land back.

The HC had, in October, ordered 64 per cent more compensation for acquired land and for return of 10 per cent of developed land to the farmers. However, on December 8, Gnida filed a review petition with the HC over the 10 per cent developed land.

“GNIDA has said it is ready to give six per cent developed land to the pushtaini land owners and no developed land for the non-pushtaini land owners,” said Pankaj Dubey, the farmers’ lawyer in the HC. Pushtaini owners bought land in Noida and Greater Noida before 1991 and the others bought it after 1991. The hearing for this review petition is expected by January 15, said Dubey.

Anil Kumar Sharma, chairman and managing director of the Amrapali Group, the property developers, with projects in three villages, said: “The real problem is that the Authority cannot have developed land, as the National Capital Region Planning Board is not allowing any development to take place”. Gnida is only asking the HC to either give it permission to develop land or allow the authority to give the farmers proper compensation, he said.

According to a farmer from Bisrakh village, the SC notices to Gnida and the UP government has given them new hope. According to Dubey, a combined hearing of all the Noida and Greater Noida farmer petitions should take place in another six months.

With the matter getting prolonged, how will this impact buyers of houses being built by developers on the acquired land, and the realty companies?

According to Amrapali’s Sharma, the major concern is not the case moving to the apex court, but the Master Plan for the area, which is getting delayed. He said there had already been a notional price increase. “By the time construction is resumed, there will be at least 15-20 per cent increase in the prices,” he said.

“Gnida asked us to pay a premium for the plots at Rs 2,200 per sq m.”

However, buyers who’d paid 20 per cent of the total cost would be exempted from any additional cost burden, as banks are not lending at the moment, added Sharma.