RWAs urge Noida authority to penalise owners of vacant plots

NOIDA: Unoccupied plots have emerged as a major security concern in several sectors with some residents’ welfare associations urging the Noida Authority to impose hefty fines on the owners of such plots.

The weed-infested vacant plots, most of which have turned into dumpyards, pose threat to the health of the residents by dint of their being home to swarms of poisonous insects, rodents and snakes.

According to Umesh Sharma, RWA president of sector 122, vacant plots with or without incomplete houses or structures are scattered across the area. “There are more than 80 such plots in this condition in the sector. Last year, there were 110 such plots. While passing by them, one feels like crossing a haunted place. These plots have also become a haven for poisonous snakes, germs and insects,” Sharma said.

The Noida Authority, Sharma added, must impose an appropriate fine on all such plots or houses owners or investors, who mostly are waiting to sell them for a profit rather than use for residential purposes.

Asim Thakurta, a resident of sector 39, said, “We have written to the Noida Authority several times about such under-construction houses becoming dumping grounds. However, it has been seen that after the Authority issues notice to the owners, they just clean their plot and go away. Three months later, the problem is back. Unless the Authority takes strict action against such owners, like levying hefty fines along with the notices to clean up, this problem will keep resurfacing,” Thakurta said.

In August, the Noida Authority had identified about 600 vacant plots of different sizes across the city via a GIS (geographic information system) survey conducted through drone cameras with the help of the National Information Centre. Based on their physical and online record verification, a residential plot scheme will be floated soon, sources from the authority said.