NCR is growing, but at the cost of farmers?
The expansion of the National Capital Region (NCR) is turning dreadful as it has been leading to several issues related to land acquisition. Farmers and villagers seem to be extremely disappointed with the compensation provided to them and are knocking the doors of court for a fair solution.
Though the growth has given room for more affordable housing options in the NCR, it has made home buying a fraught affair in suburban areas, as it was illustrated in Noida Extension issue that is going on from the past two years.
Thousands of buyers, especially those belonging to mid-income group, bought properties in Noida Extension hoping that it was a very worthwhile deal. Most of them had invested their whole lifetime’s savings as they trusted the government’s role in land acquisition for the project. But later in 2011, the Allahabad High Court banned land acquisition in some of the villages, forcing buyers into trouble.
The buyers were helpless as the agreements made were also in the favor of developers. As per the exit terms in the agreements, the developers were entitled to retain 10 percent of the total price of the properties. The buyers had signed these agreements as they were in need of affordable units and they trusted the government. Before the crisis broke out, the buyers were unaware of the fact that the project land was a leasehold property.
Even after two years after the truth came into light, most of the buyers continued with their investments without cancelling them, with a hope that once the cases are settled, they would get their affordable units. The buyers signed new agreements with developers giving consent for allowing more time for project completion and handing over possession of flats.
But ironically, the Uttar Pradesh government has still not taken any stable step to prevent such crisis. It has not come up with any facility or window to assist homebuyers by which they can check the status of all mandatory approvals required for projects.
The draft Land acquisition Bill is likely to put an end to many such unfair practices related to land acquisition. It aims to ensure a fair compensation to farmers whose land is acquired. Generally, in such cases, the price of land is typically understated in sale deeds in order to evade stamp duty charges. While the state governments fix a minimum price for every area to get rid of undervaluation of land, the actual prices quoted are often higher than this minimum rates.
In another case, from the last four months, some farmers of Ramgarh village in Dadri area of Gautam Budh Nagar, have been opposing the land acquisition by a private group for the construction of a hi-tech city project.
In this regard, the farmers had recently protested at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida demanding for greater compensation. During the time of acquisition, the project, sprawling over 2,504 acres, was valued to be more than Rs 20,000 crore. The farmers complain that the acquisition was below market rates and many were offered a raw deal.
