Trouble is now brewing in UP chief minister Mayawati’s home turf — her village Badalpur in Greater Noida.
About 50 farmers from Badalpur have filed petitions, challenging the acquisition of 230 hectares in their village by the state government notifications issued in the year 2008.
V.M. Zaidi, lawyer for the petitioners, said that the petition alleges that the state government had acquired the land by invoking the urgency clause that the land was needed for industrial development of the area.
“The farmers’ contention is that they were denied the opportunity to raise objections or bargain for adequate compensation. Yet, a number of influential farmers in the village were granted exemption from the acquisition in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner,” the lawyer said.
The state government is already under attack for acquiring land in a number of villages in Gautam Buddha Nagar district for developing the Noida Extension areas.
Acquisition of more than 150 hectares in a village was set aside by the high court and the state government’s appeal against the judgment was turned down by the Supreme Court recently.