In a strong statement issued this afternoon, the Samyukta Kisan Movement (SKM) has strongly condemned the Yogi Adityanath Government for the arrest of farmers at Dalit Prerana Sthal in Noida Delhi Highway on December 3. 2024. Police have arrested hundreds of farmers including above one hundred women and had forcefully evicted them from the protest site. This is a violation of the Constitutional Rights for peaceful protest and the SKM has urged the judiciary to intervene and protect the fundamental rights. SKM has in this statement reminded the CM of Uttar Pradesh that using police force cannot resolve the burning issues of the people who have lost their valuable land and livelihood for a pittance.
SKM even protested the arrogance of the UP Administration both Revenue and Police Departments for nakedly violating the consensus made with the farmer’s leadership on 2nd December 2024 asking for seven days for the Chief Secretary of UP to discuss with the farmers leadership and resolve the demands. As per their request, the farmers had shifted the spot of the struggle to the Dalit Prerena Sthal of Ambedkar Park and continued the night and day Sit-in struggle. But the Police force was deployed in huge numbers and forcefully evicted the peacefully agitating farmers.
The struggle of the project affecting farmers of Greater Noida region to protect their land rights has been continuing for more than the past 18 years. Six farmers had been martyred in the Police firing as part of this struggle during 2008, 2011 and 2012. There were massive struggles across the country against such widespread land acquisition to facilitate corporate profiteering. In this context, the then UPA2 Government headed by Manmohan Singh was forced to enact the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013(RFCTLARR Act) to protect the land rights of farmers.
In 2014 however, the BJP led NDA1 Government led by Narendra Modi passed, without debate, the Land Acquisition Ordinance to invalidate the LARR Act 2013. Due to the farmers’ struggle across the country under the banner of Bhumi Adhikar Andolan, they failed to enact the law. Howwver, BJP led State Governments including Uttar Pradesh have passed state land laws to violate the LARR Act 2013. Farmers however are continuing the struggle for their genuine land rights and the struggle of Greater Noida project affected farmers is part of this countrywide struggle.
The statement asserts that the Adityanath Government has failed to ensure justice to the farmers and that the circle rate of land has not been revised since 2017. Farmers in UP have been denied adequate, lawful compensation and benefits assured by the LARR Act 2013 including employment, resettlement and rehabilitation. The Greater Noida project affected farmers are entitled to get back 10% of the developed land, employment for landless farmer households, four times rate of circle rate as compensation apart from resettlement and rehabilitation. Moreover, the statement says that the BJP led State Government cannot evade its responsibility of ensuring that these lawful rights of the project affected farmers. Apart from Greater Noida farmers, lakhs of farmer households across Uttar Pradesh also have also been affected. The SKM has also appealed to all farmers to consistently advance the struggle until victory achieved and justice is done to all the victim farmer households.
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