200 Farmers come in way of Prime Minister’s Jewar plan

NEW DELHI: A plethora of projects were unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi till the election announcement came on Sunday but a group of 200-odd farmers sitting on a protest for the last 170 days near Delhi derailed one such big announcement. PM could not lay the foundation stone of Jewar International Airport in Greater Noida.

PM was in Greater Noida on Friday and though he unveiled a host of other projects and also mentioned the advantages of the proposed airport, the foundation stone of this project could not be laid. This was despite central government ministers, local MP Mahesh Sharma and the UP government earlier claiming that the project will be their showpiece for the 2019 polls and its construction would begin before the elections. But a determined group of farmers unwilling to part with their land on government-determined rates have taken the fight to Allahabad High Court, delaying the land acquisition. The project’s fate will now be determined under the new government.

“Our ongoing protest at Kishorpur village in Jewar has entered its 170th day today. Many farmers gave consent to give up their land and later withdrew it. Nearly 250 farmers have joined in petitions before the Allahabad High Court and a decision is expected soon from the court. The PM came to Greater Noida but could not lay the foundation stone of the project due to our genuine fight for our due,” farmer Yogesh Sharma of Jewar Airport Sangharsh Samiti told ET. These farmers are asking for four times the circle rate as per Land Acquisition Act for rural land. UP government wants to pay around three times the circle rate, saying land is notified as urban.