Court strikes down Noida land acquisition

The Allahabad High Court on Monday revoked the acquisition of 170 hectares of land in the Gulistanpur village of Greater Noida in yet another blow to Chief Minister Mayawati?s Uttar Pradesh government, already facing unrest over the issue.

The land, acquired by the Greater Noida authority for “Planned industrial Development” in February 2008 for a promise of Rs 132 crores to 656 farmers by invoking an ?urgency clause?, triggered controversy and protests.

Farmers had objected to the move since the land had been acquired under a special clause that allowed the government to buy land from farmers for public purposes, in a virtually dictatorial manner without inviting objections.

The High Court quashed the acquisition after the Greater Noida authority of the UP government under Mayawati, who is known for spending public money in crores of rupees on statues of herself, failed to prove that any industrial work had actually begun on the site.

Passed by a two judge-bench of the High Court, the verdict was given based on a petition filed by affected farmers in March 2008, the third such ruling within a month. The same bench had also struck down acquisition of 72 hectares of land in the Surajpur village of Greater Noida on May 13.

Earlier this month four people were killed in clashes that broke out in parts of western Uttar Pradesh between farmers demanding better compensation for their land and state law enforcement.

The unrest over land acquisition quickly took a political colour as opponents of Mayawati?s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) rallied to protest the alleged land grab where farmers in remote villages were reportedly paid one fourth the market price for their property.