Farmers of 7 villages ready for truce as Noida Authority admits its clerical error The end of the 14-year-long standoff between farmers of Sorkha and surrounding villages and the Noida Authority over excess land acquisition seems to be in sight now. The Noida Authority has said it plans to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court to correct a clerical error due to which extra 602 acres of land was acquired in 1997. The villages involved in this issue are Sorkha,Zahidabad,Sakahpur,Karkala,Nangla,Bhuta and Sarfabad. Following the Authoritys plan,the farmers have decided to call off their agitation,which included stalling construction activity in sectors 74 to 79 in Noida. An agreement between the farmers representatives and the Authority was reached during a meeting on Wednesday,Naresh Yadav,head of Sorkha village,said. The Authority has agreed to file an affidavit with the Supreme Court to correct a clerical error of 1997,where instead of the acquisition order for 200 acres,the number put down by the Noida Authority was 802 acres. Overnight,1,500 farmers who never agreed to give up their land,lost their livelihood, he said. Balwinder Kumar,CEO of Noida Authority,said,We have always agreed that the acquisition of all 802 acres,instead of 200 acres was a mistake. All we had to agree was on the modalities of how we would correct the mistake. As per the latest agreement,if the court rules that the land cannot be returned to the farmers as construction activities have already started,farmers will get compensation and 7 per cent developed plots,like other villages in the Noida region,the farmer leader said. Noida Authority officials said the compensation rate would be decided after the Allahabad High Court gives its judgment on the overall land acquisition process in villages of Noida and Greater Noida. The court had wrapped up arguments in the matter on September 30. At present,the rate of compensation in Noida is Rs 1,250 per square metre and 7 percent developed plots for land that was acquired. The problem According to head of Sorkha village Naresh Yadav,On 7 April 1997,one member of each family had agreed to give up land that belonged to them,amounting to 200 acres. However,when the agreement was inked,a clerical mistake was made by the Authority that entire families,not just one member of each,had given up all the land that was owned by them. He said the matter was complicated further when the then District Magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar handed over the land to the UP government for use. Then in 2005,this area of 802 acres was given to builders for construction.
