As farmers protest,Maya scales down Maitreya Buddha project

The district administration has also been asked to start the de-notification process.

Following resistance from farmers over land acquisition,the UP government has decided to de-notify about 500 acres of land from the Maitreya Buddha project in Kushinagar district. The project,which was originally slated to be constructed on 800 acres of land,will now be constructed on only 273 acres.

According to officials,the Maitreya Foundation has given its consent and will go in for minor changes. The district administration has also been asked to start the de-notification process.

The project is supported by Indonesia and Japan-based Maitreya Foundation. In 2005,the foundation decided to build the project in Kushinagar district in UP,a prime centre of Buddhist pilgrimage.

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The centrepiece was to be a giant 500-feet,sitting Buddha statue,the largest in the world. Spead over 800 acres,the project was to include a museum complex,temples and audio-visual theatre.

The site includes 697 acres of agriculture land of 2,900 farmers. Of them,around 600 had agreed to give their land. The rest have been running a peaceful dharna against the acquisition. The foundation representatives suggested that the state government should let go of the land in question and look for an alternative site.

Additional District Magistrate (Kushinagar) and Project Coordinator BL Maurya said,We will denotify about 527 acres of land. This land,which is a part of the 697 acres of agricultural land,had not been acquired completely.

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