New Yamuna City (YEIDA) Land Acquisition: Model, Rates, Villages and Current Status

How YEIDA is acquiring land

YEIDA does not rely on a single method. For its latest land-bank push it split the target area between negotiated purchase and statutory acquisition: of a planned 6,065 hectares, 1,609 hectares were to be bought directly from farmers by mutual agreement, 4,076 hectares acquired under the land acquisition process, and the remaining 380 hectares — already government-owned — reclaimed.

Out of the total land, 1,609 hectares will be purchased directly from farmers via mutual agreement, 4,076 hectares will be attained through the land acquisition process, and the remaining 380 hectares, which is government-owned, will be reclaimed. The authority will acquire land from 40 villages using various methods including direct purchase from farmers.

For its flagship Raya Heritage City near Mathura, YEIDA is using a different route altogether. Yeida officials said they will acquire land for the project under the land pooling scheme, which provides farmers with a share in the development. That project's first phase covers 753 acres with an investment of ₹7,200 crore, developed on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

For most new sectors near the airport, the pattern reported in 2026 is straightforward negotiated purchase: Sectors 4, 5, 5A, 8A, 8D, 8F and 11 — land for these sectors is being purchased directly from local farmers.

Current compensation rates

Rates have moved up repeatedly as the airport project matured. In late 2024, the state government increased the compensation rate for land acquisition under the third phase of the airport project from Rs 3,100 to Rs 4,300 per square meter, along with additional interest as per norms.

That ₹4,300/sq m figure is now the reference rate across Jewar. YEIDA increased land acquisition rates in Jewar (Gautam Budh Nagar district) to 4,300 per square meter (sqm), inclusive of 100% solatium (compensation for landowners). This applies to villages like Adyakpur, Medanipur, and Biyan under YEIDA's jurisdiction, and follows a 2016 Uttar Pradesh government order mandating uniform land rates within districts, regardless of market variations.

For comparison, the rate in 2022 was far lower: "We will buy land from farmers at ₹2,178.20 per square metres (sqm)." Beyond the per-square-metre price, YEIDA also runs an abadi (habitation) land plot policy: 6,263 farmers in 29 villages have received letters for reservation of abadi plots on the 7% plot policy. Separately, the authority has been catching up on older dues — YEIDA has confirmed that it has already paid around ₹2,986 crore as additional compensation to farmers between 2014-15 and 2025-26.

As of late July 2026, further rate revisions are under active discussion at the state level for the wider Noida–Greater Noida–Yamuna Authority belt, according to local reporting, though no new confirmed figure had been announced at the time of writing.

Villages and districts covered

YEIDA's overall notified footprint is large. Its own Master Plan 2041 report states: 1149 villages of Gautambudh Nagar, Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura and Agra districts have been notified under YIEDA, covering approx. 3429 sq. kms. falling in six districts to be developed in two phases.

Phase 1 of that plan — the part closest to the airport and currently seeing the most active acquisition — is smaller and concentrated in just two districts: the plan covers a notified area spread across Gautam Buddh Nagar and Bulandshahr, with Phase-1 alone consisting of 226 villages. A district-wise breakdown reported separately puts this at 226 villages, including 55 from Bulandshahr and 131 from Gautam Budh Nagar.

Within that footprint, several villages are named in current acquisition drives:

• Jewar/Gautam Budh Nagar rate-revision villages: Adyakpur, Medanipur, and Biyan.
• New sectors near the airport draw on land in 994 hectares in Rabupura, 479 hectares in Tirthali, and smaller areas in other villages, plus 712 hectares for the Tappal-Bajna Urban Centre, and 528 hectares in Dorpuri and Syarol villages for a logistic park.
• A more recent, smaller drive covers nine villages — Atai Muradpur, Ladpura, Astoli, Salem Pur Gurjar, Amarpur, Pawari, Daddupur, Dhoom Manikpur, and Sunpura.

Sectors currently being acquired

The active land-bank push covers ten numbered sectors along the expressway, each earmarked for a specific use:

In Aligarh district, YEIDA is separately targeting 178 hectares in Dorpuri Stharol and 1,449 hectares in Tappal-Bajna for logistics parks and industrial development, on top of an earlier notification to acquire 736 hectares in Tappal, where a social impact assessment is underway.

Budget allocated

Land acquisition dominates YEIDA's spending. For the two-year land-bank plan covering the ten new sectors, the authority set aside a large sum: Yeida has allocated Rs 14,000 crore to acquire 6,065 hectares of land over the next two years. It also drew on external funding: YEIDA has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HUDCO for funding and has secured Rs 3,300 crore in interest-free loans from the State government.

For FY2025-26, reported board-meeting figures put land acquisition at the centre of the annual budget, with ₹9,250 crore earmarked for land acquisition as a major expenditure head, and land acquisition accounting for ₹57,794 crore, or 72% of total expenses, in the expense breakdown.

Actual spending on the ground has been running fast: in the financial year 2025–26, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) purchased 2,700 acres of land from farmers for Rs 4,856 crore for new companies and development projects, including previously planned sectors. From April 2025 to January 2026, YEIDA spent approximately Rs 500 crore per month on land purchases, and in the first ten months of the financial year, Rs 3,710 crore — 64.7 per cent of the total — was distributed to farmers. A further Rs 1,177 crore has been paid towards deeds and acquired land.

Disputes and farmer negotiations

YEIDA's acquisition history includes one of India's best-known land disputes. In 2009, YEIDA attempted to acquire land for 2300 plots, which was opposed by farmers from 14 villages including Bhatta and Parsaul; farmers filed over 700 writ petitions in Allahabad High Court for low land acquisition rates. That litigation has now largely run its course: in 2024 the Supreme Court upheld the compensation amount, and in 2026 the Allahabad High Court dismissed the final set of petitions from farmers, ruling it was already settled in previous court decisions with fair compensation rewarded — allowing YEIDA to proceed with planned residential and industrial development on the disputed land.

Compensation levels remain a live political issue in the wider corridor. As of 20 July 2026, reporting indicated that preparations for an increase in land acquisition compensation rates across Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Authority were intensifying at the governance level, amid difficulties being faced in land acquisition.

A useful reference point comes from the neighbouring New Noida (DNGIR) project, where farmers had pushed back until the government aligned rates with YEIDA's: farmers in several villages were not ready to part with their land because they felt earlier compensation did not match market expectations, until authorities agreed to match compensation with the Yamuna Expressway belt — after which resistance reduced considerably.

Current stage (as of July 2026)

Acquisition is active and multi-track rather than finished. YEIDA is simultaneously: buying land directly from farmers in Sectors 4, 5, 5A, 8A, 8D, 8F and 11 near the operational Jewar airport; running a social impact assessment for the larger Tappal-Bajna logistics zone in Aligarh; using the land-pooling model for the Raya Heritage City near Mathura; and clearing residual legacy litigation from the 2011-era disputes. The recent acquisition has resolved land availability issues that had stalled projects due to disputes in existing sectors and has also accelerated new developments. At the same time, at least one residential plot scheme has been held up because the underlying acquired land has not yet been registered in YEIDA's name, with RERA seeking proof of registration before approving the scheme. A fresh round of compensation-rate discussions covering the wider Noida–Greater Noida–Yamuna Authority belt was reported as ongoing in the third week of July 2026.