HC directs Noida authority to maintain status quo over farmhouses on Yamuna flood plain

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court has directed the Noida Authority to maintain status quo
regarding its order of demolishing farmhouses located in Sector-135 of Noida allegedly built on flood
plain region of the Yamuna.
While directing the authority and National Mission for Clean Ganga to file counter affidavits, a division
bench comprising Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh directed to list the
case in the week commencing July 2, 2023 for the next hearing.
The present petition was filed on February 14, 2023, by Ratna Mitra, a farmhouse owner, after
the Noida Authority rejected his objections to a public notice whereby the authority had directed the
demolition of farmhouses in Sector 135 in July 2022 on the pretext of the same being built on flood plains
of Yamuna.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, senior advocate VK Singh assisted by Ashwarya Sinha and Devika
Kapoor contended that Noida Authority didn’t have the necessary jurisdiction to order demolition of
farmhouses, especially in the absence of any flood plain demarcation.
It was also pointed out that Noida had failed to deal with specific objections raised by individual
farmhouse owners regarding its jurisdiction. The petitioner said the central government had
instituted National Mission for Clean Ganga Committee vide a notification dated October 7, 2016, one of
whose functions was to determine the flood plain zone area, demarcate it and to assert if they were
causing any problem with the natural flow of Ganga or its tributaries (in this case Yamuna).

But, the Noida authority had arbitrarily given multiple general notices and public announcements that
they would demolish all the farmhouses built in Sector 135, the petitioner added.
Last year, a petition was filed in the HC challenging the general notice and the court had directed the
Noida Authority to maintain status quo until individual farmhouse owners file their objections and after
assessments of the same the authority shall pass speaking orders in reply.
According to the petitioner, the Noida Authority instead of passing any speaking order arbitrarily rejected the objection without giving any proper reason.

The Noida Authority initiated action against farmhouses in May 2022. On June 8, it issued a public notice stating that no construction was permissible in flood plain zone of Yamuna and Hindon rivers, falling in notified area of the Authority. It threatened to recover the cost of the demolition drive from owners of illegal farmhouses. Following this, several groups of farmhouse owners approached the HC seeking a stay on the demolition drive. The Allahabad HC on June 14 had given 10 days to farmhouse owners to file their objections and an equal amount of time to the authority to pass orders on them. The court had further asked the authority to maintain the status quo during this period.