Thousands of homebuyers are on tenterhook
Nearly 1,00,000 homebuyers have collectively invested around Rs 1,500 crore in housing projects in Noida Extension so far. Allahabad High Court likely to pronounce its verdict, thousands of homebuyers are on tenterhooks. The five main villages in court today account for more than 75,000 flats on 1850-hectare land. Allahabad High Court had on July 20 deferred till July 26 the hearing on petitions challenging acquisition of land in Roza-Yakubpur and Bisrakh-Jalalpur villages of Gautam Budh Nagar district. The court had also clubbed all related cases, including appeals against acquisition of nearly 1,500 hectares in Devla, Haibatpur, Itehda and Ganghola villages, for hearing on July 26.
The farmers have challenged the state government’s acquisition proceedings , wherein land was acquired invoking Section 4 (17) of the land acquisition Act.However, the entire land has been handed over to real estate developers who are building posh residential complexes and other buildings. The fate of entire Noida Extension and the confidence of homebuyers, already rattled by adverse verdicts in the Shahberi and Patwari village cases are at stake.
The homebuyers’ camp is torn between hope and despair. While many of them fear it’s just a matter of time before the court verdict annuls land acquisition in all the villages of the Noida Extension-Greater Noida area, others are still optimistic. Nearly 1,00,000 homebuyers have collectively invested around Rs 1,500 crore in housing projects in Noida Extension so far. The five main villages in court today account for more than 75,000 flats on 1850-hectare land.
“We are hoping the court will take into account our side of the story, too. It is a question of losing our life’s savings,” said Ganesh Dimri , a buyer. “If it was about one project, the builder could have shifted people to other projects or returned money, but what happens when entire Noida Extension is under a denotification cloud?” said V Shekhar, buyer.
The farmers’ contention is that they should not have been deprived of an opportunity to file their objections, which was the only way they could have bargained for an acceptable rate of compensation. Supreme Court and Allahabad High Court have already voided acquisition of 156 hectares in Shahberi and 590 hectares in Patwari villages that form part of Noida Extension. More than 50 builders had planned to raise 2.5 lakh houses worth Rs 50,000 crore in about a dozen villages across the Extension.
Economic Times
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