Noida (UP), Sep 4 (PTI) Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh Tuesday said 225 more villagers agreed for acquisition of their land for a proposed international airport in Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar.

Around 225 farmers have consented for their 550 bigha (88 hectare) of land for the proposed Jewar airport, Singh said this in a statement after interacting with people at Dayanathpur and Rohi villages.

'So far about 1,965 farmers have consented for their 675 hectares of land which is to be acquired for the proposed airport," he said.

He reminded the villagers of the 2008 controversy in Singur in Hooghly district of West Bengal after people resisted to give their land for Tata's ambitious Nano car project.

"The Tata car manufacturing company wanted to set up its plant in Singur, West Bengal for manufacturing the Nano car. But the people there are now regretting that they lost that opportunity. Today that project is in Gujarat and the people of Gujarat are moving forward on the path of development due to it," the MLA said, according to the statement.

With Tuesday's development, decks appeared clear for acquisition of over half of the 1,334 hectare land which is to be acquired during the first phase of the project by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Land from five villages - Rohi, Parohi, Dayanatpur, Ranhera and Kishorpur – is to be acquired during the first phase, which is likely to affect 2,250 families.

A total of 5,000 hectares of land is to be obtained for the greenfield airport, the cost of which is estimated to be around Rs 20,000 crore. The airport is likely to be operational by 2022-23, provided that the farmers agree for land acquisition.

"The Uttar Pradesh government wants to take the state at the forefront of development through capital investment and various ambitious schemes, but some people are opposing this development and misguiding the innocent people. These kind of people are obstructing development, which is not fair," Singh said.

"This area, which falls between the Yamuna Expressway and the Eastern Peripheral highway, will become one of the best in the world after the arrival of the airport. Better opportunities for daily work, education and jobs will benefit the people here," he told the villagers.

Some landowners, including farmers and villagers, have resisted the land acquisition citing various reasons such as "inadequate" compensation amount and related benefits besides the resettlement policy.

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