Villagers in Noida say they need better rehabilitation in the second phase of Noida airport

On Sunday, a public hearing to be held by Gautam Buddha University in which an assessment report had to be prepared on the social impact assessment has been deferred as few more details are sought by the administration.

During the second phase of the Noida airport project, all farmers who will be displaced because of it demanded a clear plan from the administration. The plan asked for listing out the rehabilitation process and other advantages for the land losers.

On Sunday, a public hearing to be held by Gautam Buddha University in which an assessment report had to be prepared on the social impact assessment has been deferred as few more details are sought by the administration. A committee of seven multi-disciplinary experts has also been appointed for the evaluation of the SIA Report.

A resident of Ranchera and a retired engineer from NTPC, 65 years old Kunwar Pal Singh is on the panel.  For the second phase of the project around 3,800- 4000 families are likely to be rehabilitated, according to Kunwar Pal Singh.

The land would be acquired from the villages of Karauli Bangar, Dayanatpur, Kureb, Ranchera, Mundhera, and Berhampur. Out of these six villages Ranchera has the highest population and most of the land will be acquired from here only.

The rehabilitation plan adopted in the first phase is objected to by the villagers. They have also pointed out that many youths who were promised jobs in NIAL were yet to get any training or employment letters. Kunwar said “We have seen what happened to the 3,000-odd families who were displaced in the first phase. The local administration has given them the bare minimum benefits. In the second phase, it has to be better”.

Some of the other villagers of Karauli Bangar put forward similar complaints. “Nobody is against the airport project. We are all willing to give up agricultural land. But moving out of our village is not easy. We have animals, machinery and a certain kind of lifestyle. The Jewar Bangar township is not fit to be called either a rural or urban settlement. It is somewhere in between. We do not want the same fate,” he added.

Additional district magistrate (land acquisition) Balram Singh said in an interview with economic times, “The grievances of the villagers are being looked into. We have shared them with senior officials. Efforts are underway to augment the resources at Jewar Bangar. The roads are being widened at present and other infrastructural works demanded by the families are being looked into.”