Land acquisition: SC disposes plea of Noida & Gr Noida auth.

Supreme Court today declined to interfere with the Allahabad High Court decision directing the Noida and Greater Noida Authority to provide varying amounts of compensation for the acquisition of farmers' land.
The apex court disposed of a bunch of petitions filed by the Noida and Greater Noida Authority challenging the High Court judgement which had allowed land acquisition of 22,000 hectares with a condition that 64.7 per cent additional compensation will be given to the farmers.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, upheld the high court judgement saying it does not require any interference at present, while clarifying that it would continue hearing the pleas filed by various farmers whose lands were acquired by the two authorities.

Around 850 farmers had approached the apex court against the land acquisition.
The Noida and Greater Noida Authority had challenged the high court October 21, 2011 verdict which had also said that 10 per cent of the developed land should be given to farmers besides granting them additional compensations.
The 22,000 hectares of land was acquired by these two authorities in 2006.

The high court, in its judgment, had observed that there were certain illegalities in land acquisition process of Uttar Pradesh government as right of hearing was not given to the farmers.
Advocate Surat Singh, who represented various petitioner farmers, had argued that UP government had abused its power in land acquisition process as it was acquired at a rate of Rs 850 per square metre but given to builders at a much higher rate of Rs 10,000 per square metre the next day.

Singh had argued that in certain cases farmers have not taken compensation from the government and thus the land should either be returned or market rate of Rs 10,000 per square metre be paid to them.