Having had to face a series of farmers' protest and flak from Opposition parties over the acquisition of land for development and expressway projects in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati has announced that all future land transactions will be clinched directly between the farmers and the private developers by adopting a “consensual approach.” “The role of the government now would be that of a facilitator only, limited to issuing a notification...

-The Hindu   The rural areas of Uttar Pradesh would be assured of 14-hour power supply from July 1. The district magistrates have been directed to conduct meetings with farmers on the 22nd of every month for discussing their problems and to find a remedy on a priority basis. These directives were issued by Chief Minister Mayawati at the conclusion of a “kisan panchayat” here on Thursday. The Chief Minister also announced that...

Facing widespread criticism over blatant acquisition of agriculture land across the state at throwaway prices and handing it over to private builders at high rate, UP chief minister Mayawati on Thursday announced a new land policy after holding meeting with farmer representatives. As per the new policy, the land acquisition will be done only after signing an agreement with the affected farmers. The government will act as a facilitator in land...

The rural development ministry has proposed that farmers should get 80% of the profits from resale of land bought from them for development, much higher than that suggested by a Sonia Gandhi-led panel. The National Advisory Council had pegged the compensation after resale at 25% of the profits made by private developers. The proposal, aimed at giving farmland owners a better deal, follows protests in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida last month over...

-The Times of India   The Allahabad high court on Monday scrapped the acquisition of 170 hectares of land in Gulistanpur village of Gautam Budh Nagar in Greater Noida. The bench of Justice Sunil Ambwani and Justice K N Pandey quashed a UP government notification citing the urgency clause for planned industrial development in Gulistanpur village. This is the third time this month that the high court has cancelled land acquisitions...