Land acquisition:SC warns UP against becoming another Bengal

New Delhi, Jun 28: Enhancing the jittery for Uttar Pradesh government, the supreme Court on Tuesday, Jun 28 warned Mayawati government over the land acquisition row in the state. Reminding the dire condition of Nandigram in West Bengal, the court expressed its antipathy to see "another Nandigram" in the country.

Delivering its judgment on the petition filed by Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority and real estate developers and builders including Super-tech and Amrapali challenging the Allahabad High Court order, the Supreme Court said, "We will not keep our eyes closed. You take it (agricultural land) from one side and give it to the other. This has to go and if it does not go this court will step in to ensure that. It is development of one section of the society only."

Taking a hand on the UP industrialist and real-estate people, the Supreme Court asked, "Whose residential use are these flats for? Who is building them? What are the prices?" and also claimed,"We want to go into details of the case. This urgency clause is not automatically invoked...We do not want more Nandigrams in all states."

Alike Nandigram, Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh had started grabbing farm lands from the farmers. The Allahabad High Court had pronounced its verdict in favour of the farmers as it cancelled the 170 hectare land acquisition in Gulistanpur in Greater Noida. Earlier 100 farmers had approached the court seeking justice as the government "forcefully" grabbed the farm lands.

However, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati tried to save her blinking image ahead of the assembly election in 2012 as she issued new land acquisition policies in the state.

OneIndia News