GREATER NOIDA: Those who bought land or a flat along the Yamuna Expressway will have to shell out more as the UP cabinet on Friday approved a higher rate of compensation for farmers from whom the land was originally acquired.

This comes three years after the Bhatta-Parsaul land unrest and the series of litigations that followed. Friday's decision will mean an extra payout of Rs 6,000 crore to farmers of 77 villages from whom 8,000 hectares was acquired.

The UP cabinet approved a 64.7% extra compensation to farmers, which the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) will now have to fork out. The authority will recover this cost from the allottees. Farmers, on their part, will have to withdraw all their legal petitions and hand over possession of the land to the authority to avail of the hike.

It has yet to be worked out how much extra each flat buyer will need to pay. It will depend on the size of the plot and the number of flats.

The UP cabinet decision comes in the wake of an October 2011 Allahabad high court order, which directed all three authorities to pay enhanced compensation to farmers. Authorities of Noida and Greater Noida have already decided to collect the additional payout from their allottees. While Greater Noida Authority has already decided on the rates per sqm they would charge and has sent out notices to its allottees, Noida Authority is yet to fix the rates.