Jewar airport: Land for phase one acquired; villagers clash with officials, SDM hurt

Around two dozen villagers on Monday pelted stones at district officials and policemen during the acquisition of the final parcel of land for the construction of Jewar airport, officials said. Sub-Divisional Magistrate Gunja Singh was injured during the clash which broke out around 11.30 am, they said.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has transferred the final land parcel to the Yamuna Expressway Authority, completing acquisition process for the first phase of Jewar airport, the officials said. The administration acquired around 18 hectares of land -- 11 from Dayanatpur and 8 from Rohi -- completing acquisition of 1,334 hectare of land in the region for the first phase of the Greenfield International Airport, billed to be the biggest when fully operational, they added.

However, around two dozen villagers, who have been protesting against the land acquisition for two years now, clashed with the administration officials who were accompanied by more than 40 policemen and allegedly pelted stones at them in which sub-divisional magistrate Singh got injured, a senior official told PTI. The district administration has approached the police and an FIR was being registered against some villagers who took to violence, the official said.

"Today, the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has transferred the last parcel of land acquired for Jewar Airport to Yamuna Authority. In total, 1,334 hectares of land has been transferred in the first phase. This chapter is closed. The first parcel was transferred on August 6, 2019. More than Rs 3,000 crore has been transferred to land owners in seven months," District Collector Brajesh Narain Singh said.