Residents of 19 villages across the Agra Canal whose land is being acquired by Haryana Ur- ban Development Authority (HUDA) for developing sectors in Greater Faridabad are up in arms against inadequate compensation being given to them in lieu of their land.

HUDA has to acquire 1,068 acres for laying of roads in the newly-carved out Sectors 75 to 89 in Greater Faridabad. “The land is being acquired for lay- ing out roads in the newly carved out sectors across the Agra Canal,“ said Arvind Malhan, Estate Officer, HUDA.

The farmers are being offered Rs 23 lakh per acre whereas the collector rate in these villages is Rs 55 lakh per acre. “Collector rates are fixed by the authori- ties as they feel the land can- not be sold below this rate. Then why do the authorities want to acquire our land for less than half the collector rate? The mar- ket rate is even much higher than the collector rate. This is unfair,“ said Mahender Singh, a resident of Bhatola. Residents of these villages protested against the authorit- ies outside the HUDA office in Sector 12, shouting slogans.
They said they will not give their land unless the compensation amount is raised and that they would start an agitation.

As Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad, Praveen Kumar, was in Chandigarh for an official meeting, Sub Divisional Magi- strate, Faridabad, Pradeep Go- dhara, met the agitated land- owners. He somehow managed to convince them to defer their decision on the issue till April 23.

Residents of these villages were scheduled to hold a meet- ing on April 17 to decide the course of action.