Greater Noida to seize T-Series land to build road

The urgency clause of the Land Acquisition Act allows the government to take immediate possession of land needed for public purposes if an urgent situation exists, bypassing normal acquisition process

Greater Noida The Greater Noida authority on Thursday said it has decided to invoke the urgency clause to acquirefour hectares land for a 1.5km road project pending for 15 years, which aims to connect LG Chowk on Kasna Road with Knowledge Park 3, after the landowner, music and film producer T-Series, refused to part with the land.

The project was first mooted in 2010 but was delayed because of resistance from T-Series. (HT Photos)

The urgency clause of the Land Acquisition Act allows the government to take immediate possession of land needed for public purposes if an urgent situation exists, bypassing normal acquisition process.

“The road connecting LG Chowk with Knowledge Park needs to be urgently built and we cannot afford to wait any longer. Traffic in the area is set to increase because the Noida Airport will open soon. The road will decongest other city roads, benefiting commuters in Greater Noida, Noida and those travelling towards the Yamuna Expressway,” said Ravi Kumar NG, chief executive officer of the Greater Noida authority.

The project was first mooted in 2010 but was delayed because of resistance from T-Series. The four hectares needed for the road is part of 80 hectares of land owned by T-Series. The authority wants all 80 hectares for developmental purposes but T-Series wants to keep 76 hectares, and only wants to give up the four hectares needed for the road. T-Series bought the land from farmers in 1987 before the Greater Noida authority came into existence. According to the rules, without the approval of the building map from the Greater Noida authority, no one can build any project or use the land for industrial, commercial or any other purpose. T-Series has been resisting the acquisition because it wants permission to use the land for its own purposes, which the Greater Noida authority has refused.

“We are ready to give four hectares land required for the road project. But we request that the remaining land must be given to us for industrial purposes because we had bought the land in 1987 before the Greater Noida authority came into existence in 1992,” said a T-Series spokesperson.

On Thursday, the authority said it plans to complete the land acquisition process as soon as possible and deposit the land cost in the additional district magistrate’s office. According to officials, the land cost is ₹3,100 per sqm. Once the authority gets the land, it will build the road within two to three months. The budget for the road project is ₹31 crore, said officials.

The road is currently only half-finished, with three lanes built from Knowledge Park to LG Chowk. The other half of three lanes from LG Chowk to Knowledge Park have yet to be built.