Noida panel to speed up rehabilitation to clear Jewar airport land

GREATER NOIDA: With the number of Covid cases showing a downward trend, the local administration is looking at speeding up work on big-ticket projects announced by the Yogi Adityanath government.

On Friday, eight deputy collectors and one tehsildar were appointed by the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate to facilitate the resettlement process of families affected by the Noida international airport project. The villagers will shift to Jewar Bangar where the township is being readied.

A total of 3,003 plots have been allotted for the families whose houses will be pulled down before construction starts on the 1,334-hectare airport site. As of now, 110 families from Nagla Ganeshi have started building houses inside the township.

“Some villagers have submitted objections in writing in the past one month. We had disposed of such applications in the past but the villagers were not satisfied with the response. According to them all benefits under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act have not been passed on to them. We will examine their complaints and ask them to produce the required documents. We are hopeful that we will be able to address their grievances by June 15,” said Balram Singh, the additional district magistrate (land acquisition), who is heading the nine-member team.

In an attempt to convince other villagers to shift to the township, special camps will be organised from May 31.

The drive will be conducted in six villages. Rohi being the largest village with 1,039 affected families, the camp would be held there first, officials said.

Shyam Singh from Rohi said: “We all are preparing to build our houses in the township. But due to the lockdown, finding construction material and labourers is becoming difficult. Also, some villages have forwarded their objections to the administrative officials and are waiting for them to address those issues.”

Apart from Rohi, 767 families would have to be shifted from Nagla Chitar. From Nagla Sharif, 529 families would have to be moved.

From Dayanatpur Khera, Nagla Phoolkan and Kishorepur, 243, 175 and 12 families would have to be shifted.

Nagla Ganeshi has 238 affected families, and of them, 110 have started building houses in Jewar Bangar.

While the state government had provided Rs 238 crore for building the township, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has also carried out several development work in the area and Rs 350 crore will be used to complete infrastructure work in the township.

With less than a year left for Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi government is keen on formally inaugurating the airport project. It is likely to become operational in 2024 or 2025, officials said.

Apart from the airport, Ganga Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway and extension of metro network in six cities are some other big projects launched in the past four years.