Farmer whose land falls in middle of Unitech project holds up work

The farmer and his supporters said they saw Unitech staff with earthmovers and other equipment taking possession of his land on Thursday to start their developmental work and this triggered their protest

: A protest by a farmer and his supporters on Thursday, alleging that Unitech group grabbed 7,000 square metres of land to develop a housing project, disrupted work at Unitech Group’s housing projects in Noida’s sector 96, 97 and 98.

Farmer whose land falls in middle of Unitech project holds up work

“Unitech did not interfere with my peaceful possession of my ancestral land in the past 15-16 years. But today (Thursday), we saw Unitech staff with earthmovers and other equipment taking possession of my land to start their developmental work. We staged a protest and did not let them carry out the developmental work on my land. We have written to the Noida authority chief executive officer Lokesh M and the Unitech Group to to resolve the matter,” said Sukhpal Singh, a farmer from Sadarpur village.

Sukhpal Singh protested at the site against Unitech and Noida authority along with his family members.

“We have demanded that either the Noida authority and Unitech build an alternative road or shift the farmers’ land to the roadside. If the Unitech and the Noida authority resolve the issue, then Unitech can carry out the development work without any hurdle. The authority should talk to Unitech to address the issue because we have been waiting for the solution for the past many years,” said Arun Singh, another farmer.

The realty firm- Unitech in 2006-07 planned three residential projects of which two are luxury group housing towers, Amber and Burgundy. It launched a third project comprising bungalows called Willows 1 and 2 with a delivery schedule of 2012 onwards. After a delay of nearly 15 years, Unitech has started developing drains, sewer lines, roads and other basic services in the area, where plotted development is planned. In Willows 1 and 2, a 7,000 square metre land that has not been acquired by the Noida authority till date is obstructing the developmental work, thereby further causing worries to Unitech.

The Unitech Limited on September 15, 2024, resumed construction at its projects in sectors 96, 97 and 98 after the Noida authority approved the layout maps.

Unitech’s three projects named Amber, Burgundy and Willows are located in the prime sectors of 96, 97 and 98, which are also home to Unitech Golf Course and Country Club.Construction work had resumed at the site after a delay of 15 years, said officials.

Earlier, Unitech could not resume the work due to a ban on construction under the graded response action plan to combat pollution.

“We resumed the construction at the site after 15 years following the layout map approval by the Noida authority. It is the fault of the Noida authority that they did not resolve the issue of the farmer whose land is coming in the way of our housing project. We have written to the authority to address the issue without delay but nothing has been done. We once again request that the Noida authority to either acquire the farm land or find out any other settlement including giving them access roads, etc,” said YS Malik, chairman, Unitech Limited.

“We will look into this issue and address the grievances of the farmers,” said Lokesh M, chief executive officer of the Noida authority.