Agra/Meerut: Amid the Bharatiya Kisan Union's (BKU) call for Mahapanchayat in Greater Noida on Monday to demand for compensation for farmers affected by land acquisition, district president Anurag Chaudhary has been put under house arrest in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district while several farmers have started marching towards the spot.
On the other hand, farmers who have been seeking return of their land acquired by the state government 15 years ago in Agra, on Monday set up tents on the inner ring road and blocked the stretch with tractor trolleys, resulting in massive traffic congestion on the Yamuna Expressway and Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait is also set to address the Mahapanchayat. Anurag Chaudhary told ETV Bharat that a heavy police force has been deployed outside his residence and he has been put under house arrest.
The decision of holding the Mahapanchayat was taken on December 15 at a meeting of farmers in Sisauli Kisan Bhawan under the chairmanship of BKU president Naresh Tikait.
Representatives of the farmers' unions of Meerut division along with Agra, Mathura, Hathras, Aligarh, Bulandshahr are expected to participate in the Mahapanchayat, where demand for a hike in the compensation and implementation of 2013 land acquisition bill are to be raised. Also, release of the farmers lodged in jail will also be taken up.
Upon information of the road block on the inner ring road, police and administration officials reached the spot and tried to convince the farmers to lift the road block but the issue has not been resolved till now. The farmers have been camping on the roadside with tractor trolleys since Sunday afternoon, sitting with placards and banners demanding return of their plots. The district administration tried to talk to the farmers but the latter are adamant on meeting the Chief Minister and demanded the government to return their land.
Among the protesters include farmers from Raipur and Rahnkala villages of Etmadpur tehsil, who reached the toll plaza of Inner Ring Road on tractor-trolleys with sticks in their hands last afternoon. They parked their vehicle on one lane and then sat on a dharna, raising slogans.
The farmers said that neither did they receive any compensation nor their land. They said that they have been demanding the government to return their land for many years but the administration has not listened to them.
On Sunday, ADM City Anup Kumar, ADA secretary Shraddha Shandilyan, SDM Sangamlal and ACP Piyush Kant Rai held several rounds of talks with the farmers till late night but they remained adamant on their demand.
Farmer leader Pradeep Sharma said their delegation should be allowed to talk to the Chief Minister and they will not move from the inner ring road till they receive an assurance. "Since our demands are not being heard, we have been compelled to set up a roadblock. The Agra Development Authority (ADA) got this land registered in its name in the revenue records due to which, the farmers' ownership rights ended," he said.
Due to the congestion, the lane connecting Yamuna Expressway to Agra-Lucknow Expressway near toll plaza on Inner Ring Road has also closed.
Agra DM Arvind Malanya Bangari said he is continuously talking to the farmers and has assured them of quick resolution of their problems.
What is the matter?
In 2009, 444 hectares of land of 5,000 farmers across 14 villages of Raipur and Rahnkala was acquired. After which, ADA had registered the plots in its name. Farmers complained that they have not received any compensation till now so they now want to get back their land.
What had happened?
In the year 2009, ADA acquired more than 600 hectares of land of Raipur and Rahnkala village in which, some farmers got compensation for the land. Out of the acquired land, farmers owning 444 hectares of land have not yet received compensation.
In July 2023, Etmadpur MLA Dharampal Singh raised this problem in the circuit house of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. On which the CM had ordered to provide four times compensation to the farmers or return the land.
In 2023, the then DM constituted an 11-member committee. The committee did not consider it appropriate to distribute compensation to the farmers at the old rate. There was a demand to give ex-gratia money for the difference amount.
ADA had prepared and sent a proposal to the government for ex-gratia money or giving up the land. So that farmers can be given four times the circle rate compensation. A feasibility report was sought from the government on this.
ADA had sent the feasibility report. It was considered practical to take the land by distributing compensation to the farmers. After this, once again a proposal was sent to vacate the land and since then the matter has been lying unattended.
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