No expressway if farmers don't give land: UP govt

The Uttar Pradesh government announced on Friday that a township under Yamuna Expressway project will not be developed in a village near Aligarh if farmers were not willing to part with their land, but remain non-committal on the demand for higher compensation.

"It is the clear decision of the state government that if farmers of Tappal, about 45 km from Aligarh, do not want a township, then it will not be developed there," Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told reporters.

Chief Minister Mayawati had made it clear that the government is against forced acquisition of land, he said.

Four persons, including a Provincial Armed Constabulary commander, were killed during clashes between police and farmers over acquisition of nearly 500 hectare land for a township in Tappal on August 13 and 14.

The farmers were demanding higher compensation, equivalent to the one given to peasants in Noida, against acquisition of their land for the development of the township.

The UP Cabinet secretary said that the decision will not affect other places as land acquisition process had been completed elsewhere.

The government has resolved the land related problems in Agra and Aligarh, he claimed, maintaining, "Adequate compensation has been paid to the farmers and they have agreed to that."

Though the BSP government on August 17 had offered a hike in compensation for the land acquired for the township in Tappal, sharp divisions had emerged on the proposal among the agitating farmers who decided to continue their stir.