Jewar’s bumpy ride on the runway to development

Concerns over compensation, jobs and security cloud the small town ahead of the the PM’s inauguration of the international airport project

The nondescript town of Jewar, 100 kms from Delhi, is set to find a place on the world map as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will that would be the largest in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. The first phase, built on 1,334 hectares of land, is expected to be completed by 2024 when one runway would become operational.

However, for Hansraj, a resident of Rohi village, the immediate concern is what will he do with his eight cows if he decides to resettle in Jewar Bangar, a township being developed by the government for around 3,000 families of six villages whose land has been acquired under the Land Acquisition Act. “How will I tend them in the 50 square metre plot that I would get,” asked Hansraj who tills one bigha of land. He is among around 500 farmers out of around 9,000 farmers who have yet to accept the compensation deposited in the treasury by the government.