The greenfield airport proposed to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore, will require a total of 5,000 hectares of land. (Representational Image)

Jewar airport: The Uttar Pradesh government finally kicked off the process of construction of the Jewar airport by releasing its first instalment of Rs 250 crore to begin the land acquisition process for the ambitious project. The greenfield project for establishing the second international airport in the NCR region seeks to lessen air traffic load on the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. According to a recent report by TOI, the civil aviation secretary Surya Pal Gangwar issued a government order on Saturday, October 20, stating that the funds were released following the issuance of the land acquisition notification. According to the notification, the Yogi Adityanath government released 10% of the total land acquisition cost.

The greenfield airport proposed to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore, will require a total of 5,000 hectares of land. However, 1,334 hectares of land is required to build the first phase of the airport. PTI reported Brajesh Narain Singh, District Magistrate (DM) of the Gautam Budh district, saying that near about 1,239 hectares of land, belonging to the farmers, will be acquired from six villages including Rohi, Dayanatpur, Parohi, Kishorepur, Ranhera and Banwari Baans along the Yamuna Expressway. The farmers owning the land in the region would be provided with their share of compensation. The remaining 95 hectares required for the first phase of the project already belonged to the government.

The Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report and Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP) for the affected region have already been approved by Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey on Septemeber 25 in a meeting held in Lucknow. According to PTI, the SIA report stated that near about 5,905 families will be impacted by the project out of which 5,007 are farmers’ families while the rest 898 are landless families. According to the district administration, a total of 4,235 families have already given their consent for building the project which amounted to around 72 per cent of the affected population, thereby fulfiling the requisite legality of at least 70 per cent consent for acquiring the land. According to officials, once the proposal gets a notification, the focus will then be laid on the rehabilitation plan for around 2,200 families, whose houses will be relocated.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India, the consultant for the Jewar Airport project and other government officials, on suggestions made by the state government, are studying the modalities of the concession agreement. Several agencies in Noida are reportedly coming forward to help in the rehabilitation process. Numerous builders, industrialists and entrepreneurs would be aiding to provide jobs and healthcare facilities to the relocated families.