UP govt sanctions Rs 1,260 cr for Jewar airport

Noida: The Uttar Pradesh government has sanctioned Rs 1260 crore for the proposed Noida International airport in Jewar along the 165 km Yamuna Expressway. The amount is to be spent for land acquisition and payment will be made to farmers for possession of land, says a state government notice.

At a meeting held in Lucknow to discuss the progress of the project on November 14, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed officials of the Noida International Airport Limited and the Gautam Budh Nagar administration to expedite work on the airport.

The government is expected to launch the airport project by the end of December, if all goes as per schedule, sources had said.

According to a government order, issued to civil aviation from secretary Surya Pal Gangwar on November 20, Rs 1260 crore financial aid has been approved for the land acquisition for the construction of 20 air strips and 24 other projects at the construction site.

"This is a very important project for the area. Therefore, all farmers should realise its significance and support the district administration," official said.

A total of 5,000 hectares of land is to be acquired for the green field airport worth Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 crore. For the first phase 1,334 hectare land is required.

A total of 1,239 hectare land belonging to farmers from six villages (Rohi, Dayanatpur, Parohi, Kishorpur, Ranhera and Banwariwas) will be acquired by the state government and due compensation will be given to them, the official said. The district magistrate also assured the farmers that all the proceedings will be completed by the officers at their homes and they will not have to visit government offices.

On October 30, the Uttar Pradesh government had issued a notification for the acquisition of land for the greenfield project in the district under Section 11 (1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), formed by the government to develop the airport, will invite bids to rope in a concessionaire to execute the project.

Some landowners, including farmers, had initially resisted the land acquisition citing various reasons such as an inadequate compensation and the resettlement policy.

The proposed airport is expected to be operational by 2022-23.