Policy-level intervention needed to address rural-urban conflict in Noida: Rakesh Tikait

Cheap labour from villages is needed to work at homes in cities, Tikait told reporters during a visit to Noida.There is no development in villages.

A policy-level intervention is required to resolve the rural-urban conflict in Noida and Greater Noida, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said here on Monday and underlined that an 'andolan' (movement) would be needed for this.

He claimed rural pockets will not be removed from Noida and Greater Noida because they serve as a source of cheap workforce in urban neighbourhoods.

The influential spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said he has been approached over the issue by several people from Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, where village panchayats do not exist in a large part.

''The villages won't be removed but their land would be acquired, and cities and urban settlements would be created here. In villages, you can do illegal construction. Cheap labour from villages is needed to work at homes in cities,'' Tikait told reporters during a visit to Noida.

''There is no development in villages. A new movement is required for this urban-rural conflict,'' he said.

Tikait said his community would launch a movement for this, adding that a lot of people from Noida and Greater Noida have approached him regarding this conflict.

''Villages would develop into slums, whose residents would provide cheap workforce for cities,'' he said.

Noting that a policy-level intervention is required to prevent such a conflict, he said, ''Nothing would happen until a movement takes place for it and he is seriously considering this issue.'' Noida and Greater Noida frequently see protests by villagers against local authorities working under the Uttar Pradesh government over issues related to compensation in lieu of their lands acquired in the past.

Over the last 30 years, Tikait claimed, big businessmen have acquired a lot of land in the country and if the trend continues, they would take over a majority of agricultural land by the time India celebrates the 100th anniversary of independence.

''There is a need to implement the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 in letter and spirit,'' said Tikait, a prominent face of the farmers' protest in 2020-21 that led to the rescinding of three contentious farm laws proposed by the Centre.

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