Noida: Noida Authority has raised its compensation rate by 53% in the category where farmers also get a 5% developed plot, the move aimed at breaking the deadlock over land acquisition for the New Noida project. In the other category, where there is no developed plot, the increase is 21%.The revision, officials said, is aimed at making landowners more willing to part with their land and speeding up a project that has faced resistance over compensation.The Authority’s board approved the revised rates on Saturday. For land acquired through mutual agreement, the compensation will rise from Rs 5,324 to Rs 6,459 per sqm. Farmers opting for a 5% developed plot would earlier receive Rs 4,224 per sqm. They will now get the same for Rs 6,459, effectively raising the cash component by Rs 2,235, or 53%.According to officials, almost every farmer is being given developed plots this time. This is crucial because developed plots are parcels that farmers can later use for construction, giving them a stake in the urban development that follows acquisition. Noida Authority CEO Krishna Karunesh said the revised package recognised the contribution of farmers to the city’s growth. “The objective of this provision is not merely to provide farmers with land compensation, but to make them partners in the development of Noida and in the region’s economic prosperity,” he added.The revised rate will only apply to acquisitions in Noida region. For New Noida, rates will vary by phase. In phases 1 and 2, farmers will get Greater Noida Authority’s compensation rate along with 6% developed plots. In phases 3 and 4, Yamuna Authority’s rate will apply, with 7% developed plots. Greater Noida last week raised its rate from Rs 4,125 to Rs 6,415 per sqm, while Yamuna Authority raised its rate from Rs 4,300 to Rs 4,558.New Noida, formally called Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region, is a planned 209 sqkm smart city and industrial hub spread across 84 villages in Gautam Budh Nagar and Bulandshahr. Notified in 2024, it is designed to ease pressure on urbanised Noida and emerge as an economic corridor linked to Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. Nearly 40% of its area is earmarked for industries, with roads, drainage, sewage, power and water infrastructure to precede industrial plot allotments.The Authority plans to acquire land in four phases – 3,165 hectares by 2027, 3,798 hectares by 2032, 5,908 hectares by 2037 and 8,230 hectares by 2041. The first phase will cover 37 villages, where surveys and land-record checks are being carried out.The region is 33km from Noida, 24km from Ghaziabad and 32km from Noida International Airport, and had a population of 1.5 lakh in the 2011 Census. The first phase alone involves 3,165 hectares, making timely agreement with landowners critical to putting the planned infrastructure and industrial development on the ground.Farmers, however, said the hike falls short. Sunil Pradhan, a spokesperson for BKU-Tikait, said, “They should have revised it to Rs 10,000 per sqm. Also, there are several pending cases of abadi land. We have planned a massive protest at the offices of the three authorities on Sept 14.”
