Land acquisition for Jewar airport gets a ₹ 330cr push
DEVELOPMENT Yamuna eway authority, the nodal agency, takes loan from Noida to expedite airport development
GREATER NOIDA: Setting the ball rolling for the Jewar international airport, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has deposited ₹330 crore with the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate’s office to initiate the process of acquiring land for the project.
Facing a funds crunch, YEIDA — the nodal agency for the project — has taken a loan of ₹330 crore from Noida authority to immediately start land acquisition for the project, which is expected to fuel economic growth along the 165-km Yamuna Expressway between Greater Noida and Agra.
“Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco), a central government agency, has given its consent in writing to provide ₹3,000 crore for the project. We have apprised the state government of this development as it will decide the funding pattern of the project,” Shailendra Bhatia, officer on special duty, YEIDA, said.
“We took a loan because we need to quickly deposit acquisition cost (10% of total cost in Phase-i) to start land acquisition. Our target is to begin acquisition in January if we receive all necessary approvals,” Bhatia said.
On June 24, the Union civil aviation ministry had given its nod to build an international airport in Jewar.
YEIDA had sought ₹2,000 crore from the state government to acquire 1,000 hectares of agricultural land for the first phase of the project.
The state government will finalise the funding pattern for the project in its upcoming budget meeting, officials said. 5,000 hectares are required for the project.
“We took a loan from Noida authority to expedite the acquisition process, which takes a long time. On December 29, we will hire a consultant to work on the techno-economic feasibility report (TEFR) of the project,” Bhatia said.
“Now, YEIDA wants to acquire 1,387 hectares of agricultural land in eight villages with around ₹3,000 crore in Phase-1. The government and the YEIDA will buy agricultural land directly from farmers to avoid any delay in the acquisition process,” Bhatia said.
If the government acquires land through the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the acquisition may take a long time and may lead to dispute in some cases, officials said.
However, YEIDA plans to acquire land with the consent of farmers in a bid to save time.
“We will go by the act, to begin with, and seek the consent of the farmers. If they agree, we will directly buy through sale deed,” Bhatia said.
After receiving ₹330 crore from YEIDA, the district magistrate has written a letter to the state government.
“We have requested the state government to hire an agency to conduct a social impact assessment survey before the land acquisition begins. Once we get directions from the government, we will begin our job,” Singh said.
In 2001, then UP chief minister Rajnath Singh had proposed a greenfield Taj international airport and aviation hub in Jewar.
In 2004, L&T Ramboll Consulting Engineers had prepared a draft of techno-economic feasibility report, which was revised in 2008.
In 2010, then chief minister Mayawati had supported the aviation project at Jewar.
In June 2017, the Central government revived the project that remained stuck for many years.
GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd on Tuesday expressed its intent to invest in upcoming airports in Uttar Pradesh, especially the proposed Jewar airport in Greater Noida, at the roadshow organised by the state government in Hyderabad.
GVK group has constructed Mumbai and Bangalore airports and it has already been awarded work of Navi Mumbai International Airport.