Japan City (YEIDA Sector 5A) Land Acquisition

Acquisition model: consent-based direct purchase

YEIDA does not use forced eminent-domain acquisition for its newer sectors, including the Japanese-city zone. Officials have described the process as a negotiated, opt-in sale. The authority aims to purchase land directly from farmers through a voluntary sale process, with officials saying they are speaking with farmers who are ready to sell. For Sector 5A and neighbouring Sector 7 (earmarked for a proposed Singapore City), the authority's master plan designates these sectors as multi-purpose industrial zones with at least 70% of land use reserved for industrial activity, with acquisition proposed under an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) model for balanced industrial, residential, commercial and institutional use.

Farmers who sell also receive a plot-based compensation component. Under YEIDA's 7% Farmer Benefit Policy, each eligible farmer receives developed residential plots equivalent to 7% of the land acquired from them, in addition to the per-square-metre cash rate.

Compensation rates reported over time

Rates have moved upward several times and differ depending on the report and the specific scheme, so figures below are presented with their source date rather than as a single fixed number:

• April 2022: YEIDA said it would buy land from farmers at ₹2,178.20 per square metre, or ₹2,422.36 per sq. m. if a farmer opted out of taking residential plots.
• By March 2025: farmers had already seen an increase from ₹2,650 per square metre in 2022, and were pushing for further parity with airport-zone rates.
• March 2025 board proposal: YEIDA proposed offering ₹4,300 per square metre, a significant increase from the earlier rate of ₹3,400 per square metre, in response to farmer dissatisfaction. This was meant to align rates with the ₹4,300/sq.m already applied to land for phases 3 and 4 of Jewar Airport.
• June 2025, for Sectors 5, 8 and 9 (near Sector 5A): farmers were offered compensation of ₹3,808 per square metre plus 7% of the total land as residential plots.
• 2025-26 confirmed rate for the Jewar belt: YEIDA increased land acquisition rates in Jewar (Gautam Budh Nagar district) to ₹4,300 per square metre, inclusive of 100% solatium, a rate applied under a 2016 state order requiring uniform pricing within a district.

No source found in current reporting gives a compensation rate specifically labelled for Sector 5A / Japan City land as distinct from the general YEIDA direct-purchase rate for the area — the figures above are the closest verifiable proxies.

Villages and districts covered

Sector 5A sits within Gautam Buddha Nagar district, Greater Noida, under YEIDA's jurisdiction. No published report identifies a confirmed, named list of villages whose land falls specifically inside the Sector 5A / Japan City footprint. What is documented is the acquisition activity in the surrounding sectors that are being processed in parallel under YEIDA's Master Plan 2041 land drive:

• Bhikanpur and Kallupura villages for Sector 5
• Ranhera, Mudrah, Dayorar and Dhansia for Sector 8
• Veerampur village for Sector 9

Separately, YEIDA's wider 10-sector land drive (covering Sectors 4A, 5, 5A, 6, 7, 8, 8D, 9, 10 and 11) involved a letter to the Gautam Buddha Nagar district administration to acquire 3,500 hectares of land, alongside a parallel drive in Aligarh district covering the Tappal-Bajna belt. A village-level breakdown naming which hamlets fall inside the 5A boundary specifically has not been found in current reporting and is omitted here rather than estimated.

Budget allocated

No budget line has been published that is earmarked specifically for Japan City / Sector 5A. Figures available cover YEIDA's land-acquisition spending at the authority-wide level:

• FY2022-23: YEIDA allocated ₹1,535 crore to buy 1,200 acres of land for industrial projects, out of a total annual budget of ₹4,528 crore.
• FY2025-26: YEIDA purchased 2,700 acres of land from farmers for ₹4,856 crore for new companies and development projects, including previously planned sectors. In the first ten months of that financial year, ₹3,710 crore — 64.7% of the total — was distributed to farmers, with around ₹1,177 crore paid towards deeds and acquired land.

YEIDA has also secured external funding relevant to its wider land programme: the authority has signed an MoU with HUDCO for funding and secured ₹3,300 crore in interest-free loans from the state government.

Disputes and farmer negotiations

The Yamuna Expressway belt has a history of contentious land acquisition, though the most serious historical dispute predates the Japan City proposal. In 2009 YEIDA attempted to acquire land for 2,300 plots, which was opposed by farmers from 14 villages including Bhatta and Parsaul, leading to the 2011 Bhatta-Parsaul unrest; in 2026 the Allahabad High Court dismissed the final set of farmer petitions on that matter, ruling the compensation issue already settled, and allowed YEIDA to proceed with planned development on the disputed land. That case was not specific to Sector 5A but illustrates the authority's acquisition history in the region.

More recent friction has centred on rate parity rather than land-use objections. Farmers voiced concerns and demanded equal treatment across all acquired land after seeing rates rise from ₹2,650 per sq. m. in 2022, prompting the March 2025 proposal to raise rates to ₹4,300 per sq. m. YEIDA's CEO said the adjustment was meant to ensure equitable compensation and "foster a spirit of collaboration" in the authority's urban development projects. Separately, a related planning region — New Noida (DNGIR) — set its own land rate at ₹4,300 per sq. m. in 2026 specifically to match YEIDA, reflecting continued pressure across the wider corridor for uniform, higher compensation.

No protest, litigation or negotiation specifically naming Japan City or Sector 5A land has been found in current reporting; disputes documented so far relate to YEIDA's acquisition programme generally.

Current stage

As of February 2026, Japan City is at the proposal and land-identification stage, not the operational acquisition stage. In a letter dated 18 February 2026, YEIDA informed the Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner, Government of Uttar Pradesh, that land had been identified within its notified area for the proposed Japan City and Singapore City projects. YEIDA CEO R.K. Singh stated that preparations related to land acquisition for both cities have been completed, though this refers to planning and identification rather than completed purchase. Each project — Japan City in Sector 5A and Singapore City in Sector 7 — is proposed at 500 acres, as multipurpose industrial zones with a mix of industrial, residential, commercial and institutional use, to be developed under the EPC model. Land acquisition itself has been proposed for both projects but formal notification, compensation disbursal or possession specific to Sector 5A had not been separately confirmed in reporting as of this date.

This sits within YEIDA's broader, ongoing land programme: the authority has so far developed 52 sectors, with 46 new sectors in the pipeline, including Sectors 4, 5, 5A, 8A, 8D, 8F and 11, where land is being purchased directly from local farmers.