The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government today announced to revive the proposed 1,250-acre Tappal township in Aligarh district along the 182-km long Yamuna Expressway.
Addressing the media here, UP Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said since the local farmers had been persistently demanding the revival of the township, the government had conceded to it.
He said over 500 farmers had even submitted their affidavits demanding the revival of project.
Tappal was in news a couple of months back, when local farmers under the banner of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (KSS) were agitating demanding higher compensation at par with their Noida counterparts. There were violent clashes between the agitators and police, in which several persons were reportedly killed.
Later, the state government had hiked the land compensation in Aligarh by Rs 121 sq/mt to Rs 570 sq/mt.
However, amid mounting pressure from opposition parties and agitation by a section of land owners, the Mayawati government on September 3 had announced a new policy for Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation (LAR). The proposed Tappal township was also scrapped.
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Meanwhile, the government had also conceded to the farmers’ demands of retrospectively covering the project under the new LAR policy, so that the land owners reaped additional benefits.
Yesterday, a delegation of farmers had arrived in Lucknow to hold talks with a high level panel of officials led by additional cabinet secretary Netram. The daylong meeting went on till late evening.
A farmers’ delegation member Sunder Singh Baliyan said they were satisfied with the state government decision and there was no agitation staged by the farmers in Tappal.
Swathes of land belonging to 2,300 farmers were to be acquired for the Tappal project. Singh said only 700 farmers were left to come on board, of which 600 had already given the affidavits.
Earlier, there were reports of farmers’ protest in Tappal over the alleged reneging by the state government over its compensation promise. KSS President Manbir Singh Tewatiya had said he was being threatened by the authorities against leading the farmers’ agitation.
However, Baliyan said Tewatiya, who hailed from Bulandshahr, and other farmers’ leader Ram Babu Katheria, who hailed from Mathura, had nothing to do with Tappal.
The new LAR policy promises several sops to land owners, including equity share in the development projects and annuity payment to farmers, while prohibiting any forceful acquisition of land.
Under the new LAR policy, the government has made a provision of Rs 20,000 annuity per year per acre to the land owner for the next 33 years. The annuity would increase by Rs 600 every year. If a farmer does not wish to avail of the annuity facility, he can seek a one-time compensation of Rs 2.40 lakh per acre.
These payouts would be in addition to the compensation for the acquisition of land.
If the acquisition is done by a private company, the affected farmers would also have the option of getting equity share equal to 25 per cent of the land value, so that they reap the benefits of any appreciation in property rates.
If the acquisition comes under Land for Development, the land owners would be given 7 per cent of the land for dwelling purposes. The allotted land would measure a minimum of 120 sq mt, while the maximum limit would be decided under the relevant development authority bylaws.
If the land is used for residential projects, the land owners would be given 17.5 per cent reservation in the allotment.
A total of 1,187 villages in 6 districts viz. Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mahamaya Nagar (Hathras), Mathura and Agra districts had been notified under Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).
About 1,550 hectares of land will be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for the six-lane Yamuna Expressway (erstwhile Taj Expressway) and toll plazas between Greater Noida and Agra. It is estimated to cost about Rs 10,000 and is being developed by Jaiprakash Infratech.