Court saves G Noida homes, gives farmers a better deal

The Allahabad High Court on Friday gave the best-possible Diwali gift to one lakh families who had been waiting in despair after investing in homes in the “affordable residential hub” in the eastern suburbs of the national capital region (NCR).

The court ruled that rather than declare the housing projects being built in Greater Noida (GNoida) area as illegal, compensation for farmers whose land has been acquired be hiked.

“We are happy that court has thought of our interests,” said GL Sagar, general secretary of Noida Extension Flat Buyers’ Welfare Association.

For the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, though, the quashing of a 2007 notification to acquire about 5,000 hectares of land in three villages in Greater Noida — Asadullapur, Yusufpur Chak Shaberi and Devla — came as a blow.  While there are no housing projects in these villages, the court ordered that similarly affected farmers of other villages — where apartments are being built — also be given higher compensation.

The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), under whose jurisdiction the affected area falls, said all projects will resume in a month.

“The court has asked us to pay 64% additional compensation and 10% developed land to farmers,  close to the out-of-court settlement figures,” GNIDA CEO Rama Raman told HT.
 

He also said that since GNIDA works on a no-profit-no-loss basis, the extra money will be claimed from builders, institutions and industries. “The higher compensation will result in an additional burden of Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 crore on the authority,” Raman told reporters. Builders had earlier said that the increase in cost will not be passed on to existing customers.
 
For new customers though, experts say that the ruling is likely push up prices by at 15% to 20% in the area as builders will seek to cover the additional cost of paying off farmers.

 
Not everyone is entirely happy with the judgment, though.  “The court ruling is balanced, but not giving entire relief to any stakeholders — the government, farmers, builders and buyers,” said Pankaj Bajaj, president of NCR’s biggest realtors’ body. Farmers, too, said they would move the Supreme Court seeking more money.