Ponds, natural drains to be shifted for Noida’s Jewar airport project

The district administration needs to acquire 1,239.94 hectares of land for the airport and has been asked to do this as soon as possible because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to lay the foundation stone of the project soon.

The Gautam Budh Nagar district administration faces an uphill task in the construction of international airport at Jewar as it needs to shift several ponds, natural drains, as well as the Jewar-Bulandshahr connecting road to make way for the airport. It has to replace the natural resources that it removes for the construction of the airport, by building them in alternative locations.

Pravir Kumar, chairman of UP revenue board, along with other officials, inspected the project site of Jewar airport on Monday, Feb 19, 2019.(HT Photo)

The administration will have to ensure that alternative roads and drains are constructed so that neither connectivity nor the environment are encumbered.

“We will identify the exact number of natural ponds and drains within two days so that the proposal regarding handing over 94 hectares of government land to the district administration is done at the earliest. Each village has at least one pond, while some have multiple ones. We are identifying all of them so that we can construct ponds at other locations,” a district administration official said.

As per the law, if a pond is spread over 1ha , the administration has to construct new pond in a low-lying area on 1.25ha to compensate. “The administration has explained how they will prepare alternatives for the connecting road, as well as other natural resources,” Pravir Kumar, chairman of the state revenue board, said.

Kumar, along with other officials, inspected the project site on Monday so that the process of handing over the 94-hectarechunk of government land to the administration could be expedited.

The district administration needs to acquire 1,239.94 hectares of land for the airport and has been asked to do this as soon as possible because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to lay the foundation stone of the project soon.

The 94ha in question belongs to the panchayats of six villages — Dayanatpur, Ranhera, Banwaribans, Kishorpur, Rohi and Parohi. The land will be handed over only after the board of revenue approves the proposal prepared by the administration.

“We have conducted an inspection of the site to expedite the process. We have briefed administration officials on how they are to prepare the proposal in line with the existing laws, so that it gets approved as soon as possible,” Kumar said.

As per procedure, the administration sends a proposal about government land acquisition to the board of revenue, which the board then reviews, and then suggests ways to modify it, if required. However, Kumar said meetings between the involved parties could help speed up the process.

“With the help of meetings, the process will be completed at the earliest because we detailed how they should prepare the proposal in consonance with the law,” Kumar said.

The administration is likely to send a proposal on Wednesday.

Once the proposal is approved, the administration will acquire the land for airport. Apart from this, the administration is expected to start distribution of compensation for farmers’ land by February 22.

The estimated budget for the Jewar airport project is Rs 15,000- Rs 20,000 crore. The project is expected to be operational by 2022-23, as per officials. The entire project requires 5,000ha.