Illegal housing project razed in Greater Noida

The Greater Noida authority on Thursday demolished an unauthorised housing project in Tusyana village, freeing 31,000 square metres of land worth 62 crore. The authority’s action came after complaints that the land mafia is constructing illegal housing projects in the area, officials said.

The authority team that included general manager AK Arora, deputy general manager Kaluram Verma and manager Chetram Singh reached the site along with the six JCB machines and police personnel around 9am. They demolished the illegally built houses and the boundary wall in three hours.

“Our drive against the illegal housing projects and the land mafia will continue until we get rid of such unlawful projects. According to rules, housing or other kinds of projects can only be built after maps are sanctioned and other approvals are taken from the authority,” Surendra Singh, chief executive officer of the Greater Noida authority, said.

According to the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act, 1976, the Greater Noida authority must approve the building layout and map, allowing a private developer to build housing or other kinds of projects in an area. Officials added that selling plots without approval is unlawful under the Act and the authority has the mandate to demolish such structures.

Authority officials also appealed to the general public to not buy residential plots in such illegal housing projects.

“If the land mafia is found developing such projects then we will file FIRs against such anti-social elements,” Singh said.