NOIDA: Farmers from Noida Extension villages have decided to approach the Allahabad high court with a petition alleging that Greater Noida Authority allotted plots cut out from land acquired in the region to real estate developers even before changing the land use pattern in the Master Plan.
Farmers have prepared the PIL based upon RTI documents obtained from the Authority and have demanded enquiry by an independent investigative agency to establish if land had not been acquired forcibly to favour private developers.
"The Authority had launched schemes for private developers in Noida Extension region in 2010, but plots had been allotted well before the change of land use," said farmers' lawyer Parmindera Bhati. "Land had been acquired from us citing industrial development, but later it was sold off to private developers and land use pattern changed from industrial to residential. We want an enquiry by an independent investigative agency to verify if laws had not been twisted to favour private developers," said Bhati.
Greater Noida Authority had launched four residential schemes in Noida Extension - BRS01, BRS02, BRS03, BRS04 - in 2010. The basic allotment rate for each square metre of land in the first two schemes was Rs 10,000, while for the remaining two schemes the rate had been fixed at Rs 11,000.
"The opening date of the first scheme was January 22, 2010. But minutes of meetings held in the Authority in the first week of February 2010 show that it was still discussing change in land use," said Bhati. "The reason as to why the Authority was in a hurry to open allotment schemes needs to be investigated," he added.
In the meeting held in the first week of February 2010, Authority officials had discussed the proposal to change land use along 130m roads in the city from industrial to group housing. The Authority had cited lack of enthusiasm among industries to set shop in the region due to the then ongoing economic recession and the lack of funds at the disposal of the Authority to pay back more than Rs 2,500 crore it had availed as loans to pay compensation in lieu of land acquired.
A copy of the minutes of the meeting, signed by nearly a dozen senior officials of the Greater Noida Authority, is with TOI apart from RTI documents disclosing the dates of opening and closing of the group housing schemes.
The proposal had been mooted as per the suggestions of the property department of the Authority. It had been decided in the meeting that upon passing the proposal of land use change in the next board meeting, objections would be invited from general public. "However, no public hearing was done," said Bhati.
Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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