Noida, Oct 21 (PTI) Officials on Friday said they have received consent letters of more than 70 per cent of farmers -- the minimum required by law for government to proceed for land acquisition for the second phase of Noida International Airport.

Around 1,365 hectare of land is to be acquired for the second phase of the greenfield project from six villages -- Ranhera, Kureb, Dayanatpur, Karauli Bangar, Mundrah and Birampur -- the officials said.

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The first phase of the greenfield airport, billed to be India's largest upon completion and costing an estimated Rs 29,560 crore, is under development in the Jewar area of Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh, some 75 km off Delhi.

MLA Jewar Dhirendra Singh said, "The consent for land acquisition crossed the 70 per cent mark today and reached nearly 73 per cent."

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Singh had been extensively touring the six villages for land owners' consent after several of them denied to give up their assets in lieu of compensation.

In a meeting with farmers in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on October 14 assured them an increased compensation of Rs 3,400 per sq metre (including the interest amount).

Deputy Collector (Jewar) Abhay Pratap Singh said, "With the consent level crossing the 70 per cent mark, the district administration can send proposal to the government for carrying out formalities under Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act."

"Once the government's approval comes, survey for land and compensation will begin," Singh said.

According to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the consent of at least 70 per cent land owners is required for acquisition.

The law also mandates several other features, like rate of compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation facilities, for the government to proceed with land acquisition.

According to officials, the airport is being developed in four phases by the Switzerland-based concessionaire Zurich International Airport AG's special purpose vehicle Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL).

In the first phase, which is scheduled to be completed by 2024 end, operations will begin with one runway and a capacity of handling 1.20 crore passengers annually by then.

The first phase will be spread over 1,300 hectare, according to officials.

The airport is billed to be India's largest airport upon full completion in the 2040s. It will be spread over an area of 5,000 hectare, the officials added.

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