Farmer groups protesting in Noida and Greater Noida on Monday said they will march to Delhi on February 23 to press for the resolution of their issues.

Noida Farmers’ Delhi March: Farmer leaders on Monday rejected the Modi government’s proposal to purchase five crops at minimum support price (MSP) over the next five years and announced that they will resume their ‘Dilli Chalo’ march from the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border on February 21.

Amidst all this, farmer groups protesting in Noida and Greater Noida on Monday said they will march to Delhi on February 23 to press for the resolution of their issues related to developed plots and increased compensation for their land acquired in the past.

Earlier, thousands of villagers, including women, made an unsuccessful attempt to go to Delhi on February 8 amid stepped-up security along Noida’s borders with the national capital, causing massive traffic snarls.

On February 8 they called off the march when they were pacified after police’s assurance of a high-level meeting with representatives of local authorities and the Uttar Pradesh government.

However, hundreds of farmers on Monday gathered outside the office of the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) in a protest where the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), a key local group in Noida gave the call for the February 23 march to Delhi.

“A meeting was held by government authorities on February 13 and it was decided there that a high-power committee would be formed by February 18 to resolve the issues of farmers but nothing has happened till today also,” said the BKP in a statement.

“Now, three more days have been sought from the administrative officials, which the farmers have accepted and said if the solution is not found till then, the farmers will march towards Delhi on February 23,” warned the farmers’ group.

Farmers from over 200 villages in Noida and Greater Noida have been protesting since December 2023 against the local authorities and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Dadri with demands for increased compensation and developed plots in place of their land acquired by them in the past.

As for the farmers protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border, farmer leaders on Monday said that they will resume their ‘Dilli Chalo’ march to the national capital from the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border on February 21 as they rejected the Centre’s proposal to purchase five crops at minimum support price (MSP) over the next five years.

“After the discussion of both forums, it has been decided that if you analyse, there is nothing in the government’s proposal. This is not in the favour of farmers. We reject it,” said farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

In the fourth round of talks with farmer leaders, a panel of three Union ministers on Sunday proposed the buying of pulses, maize and cotton crops by government agencies at minimum support prices (MSP) for five years after agreeing with farmers.

Earlier in the day, Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which spearheaded the 2020-21 stir, rejected the government proposal, saying it seeks to “divert and dilute” the farmers’ demand for MSP and they will accept nothing less than the ‘C-2 plus 50 per cent’ formula for MSP as recommended in the Swaminathan Commission report.

(With PTI inputs)