Gurugram Greater SPR Land Acquisition: Compensation Rates Announced for 6 Villages, Farmers Threaten Legal Action

Gurugram: The Haryana Government and land acquisition authorities have officially announced the land acquisition rates for the construction of the Greater Southern Peripheral Road (Greater SPR), a crucial infrastructure project connecting Faridabad Road to Sohna Road in Gurugram. The authorities have sanctioned an estimated ₹986 crore to compensate landowners for acquiring 160 acres of land across six villages.

While the administration views this as a major step toward decongesting city traffic, local landowners are furious. Branding the compensation as grossly inadequate, the villagers have outright rejected the rates and are preparing to approach the courts.

Village-Wise Breakdown of Compensation Rates The compensation varies across the six affected villages, with Badshahpur securing the highest valuation. The officially announced per-acre compensation rates are as follows:

• Badshahpur: ₹8.25 Crore per acre

• Maidawas: ₹6.17 Crore per acre

• Behrampur: ₹5.26 Crore per acre

• Dhumaspur: ₹5.19 Crore per acre

• Ullawas: ₹4.96 Crore per acre

• Kadar Pur: ₹4.92 Crore per acre

How Were the Rates Calculated? The land acquisition process was initiated by the Land Acquisition Department at the request of the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP). A specialized committee, headed by HSVP Administrator Vaishali Singh, finalized the rates.

According to officials, the base rate was determined by calculating the average of the 50 highest-valued land registries out of 100 that took place before the year 2013. Under the new land acquisition policy, this base average was doubled, and an additional interest covering 730 days was added to arrive at the final compensation figures.

"Can't Even Buy Land in Mewat": Farmers Express Outrage Despite the mathematical justification provided by the authorities, the landowners feel cheated. Villagers have pointed out a massive discrepancy between the government’s compensation and the actual market value of the land.

Residents of Behrampur, Rohtas Bhati, and Satya Bhati, highlighted that current market rates in their area exceed ₹50 crore per acre, with circle rates alone standing at ₹10 crore. Similarly, Shyambir Singh from Ullawas stated that while their circle rate is ₹9 crore per acre and the market rate crosses ₹35 crore, they are being offered less than ₹5 crore.

The strongest reaction came from the landowners of Badshahpur, who claimed the current market rate in their village is near ₹100 crore per acre. They stated that with the ₹8.25 crore offered, they would not even be able to purchase replacement agricultural land in the less-developed Mewat region.

The Dispute Over 'Stay Period' Interest and Builder Profits Adding to the farmers' frustration is the denial of interest for the period the project was stalled in court. Initial acquisition notices were issued in 2013, after which some landowners obtained a stay order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a case that eventually reached the Supreme Court. The stay was vacated last year, but the farmers complain that they are not being paid interest for this extended legal period—even those who never participated in the litigation.

Ironically, while farmers feel shortchanged, private builders seem to have profited. Several landowners had previously sold their parcels to developers building societies around the Greater SPR. Despite the pending court cases, these builders managed to secure Transferable Development Rights (TDR) approvals from the Town and Country Planning Department in exchange for this land, proving highly beneficial for their real estate ventures.

With the farmers determined to challenge the compensation rates in court, the much-awaited Greater SPR project might face further administrative turbulence before the ground is finally broken.