Greater Noida, July 21 : A group of farmers Thursday announced they would not enter into any agreement with the Greater Noida Authority until the central government introduces a land acquisition bill in parliament.
In a panchayat held at Sadullapur village, situated around the ‘Noida Extension’ area, the farmers decided not to hold any talks with the authorities until the bill is taken up by the centre.
"We have been the most oppressed class. Neither does the state address our grievances nor does the centre do anything about it. For years now, both state and central governments have cheated us by not doing anything for our welfare," Ranbir Pradhan, convener of farmers’ body Gramin Panchayat Morcha and a resident of Sadullapur, said.
"We will hold talks only if the bill is brought in parliament," he said.
Warning the middlemen among the farmers, who were silently executing closed-door, secret agreements with the Greater Noida authority and acting on its behest, the farmers said they would be boycotted from the village society.
A section of the farmers said they would file a petition in the high court seeking relevant action against the authority and builders for illegally occupying the lands of those farmers in Noida Extension who have not taken the compensation money from the treasury.
The builders took illegal possessions of their agricultural lands on which they practiced farming and the authorities assisted them, they claimed.
"It is a crime. Had the court not intervened and not come to our help, they would have gone unabated. They were enjoying the protection of authority," said Tejram Yadav, a member of the panchayat morcha and Haibatpur resident.
"The authorities paid just Rs.850 per square metre for our three-crop a season, fertile farm land which it allotted to private builders at a profit of eleven times, at Rs.12,000 per square metre. The builders then sold it off at Rs.1-1.5 lakh per square metre, a massive profit of just less than 200 percent," he said.
The farmers also expressed confidence that most of those who accepted compensation would return it to get their lands back. "The farmers would do everything to return the compensation as the present rates are almost negligible for their land. They would then command the right price and do whatever he wants as per his wish," Yadav said
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