Noida registry office shut for third day over row on buildings in flood plains

Advocates continued to lock the stamp and registration department’s office building in Noida Sector 33 for the third day on Saturday, disrupting public work, as they demand execution of registries on residential buildings built on flood plain areas.

They shouted slogans against the district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, Suhas LY, demanding prohibition of registry of plots and flats on flood plain areas.

Suhas LY, however, said that he stands by his order issued in September 2020, which bans registrations of ”illegal” buildings built on flood plain areas because the move is to protect “ecology of river and safeguard the rights of poor people, who are lured by land mafias” who develop illegal housing facilities along River Hindon.

Meanwhile, the Bar Association of Noida said that they will continue to lock the registry office in Sector 33 if the registries on flood plain areas will not be allowed in the future. The special secretary with the Uttar Pradesh government, Ajay Kumar Awasthi, said in an order on December 6, 2021, that “there is a loss of revenue for the state government due to the ban on registrations, and thus the ban must be lifted”.

“But even after the order of the special secretary of the state government, the ban on registrations continues on flood plain areas, affecting at least 1 lakh people who have bought property in the flood plains of Hindon or Yamuna. If the order is not implemented, we will continue to protest and lock the office. The ban is affecting our livelihood and affecting the people who have bought properties in flood plain areas,” said Shyamber Singh Baisoya, president of Bar Association of Noida.

The general secretary of Bar Association of Noida, LC Sharma, said, “Why Why were these housing facilities allowed to be built on the flood plain of River Hindon? If these are built, people will live there, then why no registrations.”

The committee of district disaster management of Gautam Budh Nagar constituted under Section 25 of the Disaster Management Act on September 30, 2020, prohibited registrations of structures on the land on flood plains and ‘unsafe unauthorised buildings’, because those are not considered safe for living. The district \magistrate, Suhas LY, also prohibited the registration process under the Disaster Management Act provisions.

“We banned the registrations because land mafias are selling properties on unsafe structures or buildings, which are not even authorised by the local authorities on flood plain areas. Even the Allahabad high court, in its orders on February 3, 2021, took the disaster management committee’s decision on record and refused to lift the ban. We cannot allow illegal activities by land mafias in flood plain areas, come what may,” said Suhas LY.

Administration and advocates will discuss the issue on Monday, said officials.

“We will discuss the issue with advocates on Monday in detail to resolve the deadlock,” said Vandita Srivastava, additional district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar.