The Uttar Pradesh government has created a committee to resolve disputes related to Abadi land in Noida, Greater Noida, and the Yamuna Expressway areas, as published by Hindustan Times. This move follows a policy approved in December 2024.
The committee will be chaired by Arun Vir Singh, CEO of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), and will include the additional CEOs from Noida and Greater Noida authorities. The panel’s primary responsibility is to address land disputes in Abadi areas—well-inhabited zones of villages and towns that were acquired by the government under the 1894 Land Acquisition Act.
The newly approved policy stipulates that leaseback will be granted to farmers whose land was acquired before 2014. The land in question was wrongly classified as agricultural, though it had been used for residential purposes. This acquisition occurred before the implementation of the new land act in 2013-14, which had updated the regulations governing land acquisition.
A significant decision regarding these disputes was made during a Yeida board meeting on March 12, 2024, which was attended by senior officials from all three industrial authorities. “The state government is focused on resolving these Abadi land disputes and granting leaseback to farmers, as some of this land was wrongfully acquired,” Singh said.
The committee will draft a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for addressing these disputes within the next month. Around 400 cases of Abadi land disputes across the three industrial areas are pending, with 200 cases in Greater Noida, 150 in the Yamuna Expressway area, and fewer cases in Noida, where authorities are currently compiling a list of affected farmers.
Farmers have long voiced concerns about delays in resolving these issues. Yashpal Nagar, a farmer from Bhooda village in Noida, said, “We’ve been hearing for the last five years that authorities would resolve the leaseback issue, but nothing has happened yet. We are hopeful that the committee will now take action following the state government’s instructions.”
The disputes arose from government acquisitions of agricultural and residential land for development projects. Farmers have demanded land for their rehabilitation, as they seek to restore their livelihoods and provide for their families.