The Delhi Cabinet decided to offer compensation to farmers of six villages in Northwest Delhi, including Kanjhawala, at a new rate of Rs 75 lakh per acre, in a meeting held this evening. Land was acquired by the Delhi government in six villages a few years ago and the farmers were not happy with the old compensation rate, as market rates have risen considerably in the past few years. Also, a large number of farmers did not get the compensation in the first place. The farmers, under the banner of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, had held protests outside the Delhi Assembly on the first day of session last week and scuffled with the police. Farmers from several villages, including Kanjhawala, Karala, Sultanpur Dabas, Put Khurd, Tikri Khurd and Tikri Kalan, have been staging a sit-in outside the local deputy commissioner's office from the last six months. They alleged that nearly 60,000 people were affected by the government's decision of giving less compensation for land. The Delhi government had acquired 1,450 acre of agricultural land in North Delhi on Aug 25, 2005, through a notification. The government revised the compensation rate from Rs 15.7 lakh to Rs 17.5 lakh per acre within four days of the notification. The farmers claimed that the market price of land was nearly Rs 3 crore per acre and the government offer was very low.