GREATER NOIDA: Hundreds of farmers who have been waiting for more than a decade to get back abadi land that they claim was wrongly acquired by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) are likely to get relief over the next few months.
Heeding the farmers’ demand at an event in Greater Noida on Wednesday, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said the villagers identified by the Authority would soon get legal titles over their plots. In January 2015, the UP government had approved the leaseback of abadi land acquired in 2006-07.
Officials said 1,451 farmers wanting back their land had been identified for the leaseback so far. There are 741 others whose claims are being examined.
It was more than 14 years ago that acres of land were acquired from thousands of farmers for the development of Greater Noida. Some of it was abadi land, which, the farmers said, was not supposed to have been taken by GNIDA for industrial purposes.
As violent protests started over this “wrongful” acquisition of land by more than 2,100 farmers in 44 villages, the state government announced in 2010 that the plots would be leased back and the villagers would not have to pay any stamp duty either.
But a section of the villagers alleged irregularities on the part of the then GNIDA officials. They claimed that some of the land that was to be leased back had been illegally transferred in the name of “outsiders”. It was also alleged that certain villagers close to Authority officials were being given bigger piece of land for smaller plots acquired from them. The villagers filed several complaints at the Authority and even moved the Allahabad high court.
In June 2017, a special investigation team was constituted under the CEO of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) to probe the alleged irregularities. The mandate was also to examine the circumstances under which abadi land was acquired from 2007 onwards.
“Abadi land was wrongly acquired by the Greater Noida authority. After protests, the state government intervened and reversed GNIDA’s decision. The land was to be leased back to the original owners,” said Pawan Sharma of Saini village, who has been at the forefront of the decade-long battle over the plots.
The SIT formed to probe the alleged irregularities has already submitted its report. Arun Vir Singh, the YEIDA chief who headed the SIT, said, “I cannot divulge any details about the report at this juncture. The findings have been submitted to the government and senior officials will take the final decision on the matter.”
Sources said it was in September last year that SIT had submitted the report. The cases of 1,451 farmers for getting back ownership of their land have been approved so far.
