UP to denotify land after protests

In order to defuse the situation created due to the farmers’ agitation in Katesar village of Chandauli district,the Uttar Pradesh government assured farmers in writing on Tuesday that their land will soon be denotified from acquisition proceedings. The proposal by Vijay Kumar Tripathi,the District Magistrate of Chandauli,came a few hours before the farmers had threatened to burn an effigy of Chief Minister Mayawati.

About 121 hectares of land was first notified under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act on February 9,2010 by Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) for the planned development of a cultural mini-city on the banks of Ganga. Another notification under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act,declaring that acquisition is to be done for public purpose,was issued on March 23,2011. Now,the DM has proposed cancellation of both the notifications.

“The DM came to us around 8 am with the copy of the proposal,which he has sent to the government to denotify our land. He gave us the copy of the proposal,which he has sent to the Housing and Urban Planning Department. He requested us to end our dharna,” said Shesh Nath,one of the farmer leaders.

Following the written assurance,farmers agreed to postpone their agitation for a month and told the DM that if their land is not denotified within a month,they will burn Mayawati’s effigy and even attempt self-immolation.