Noida to demolish illegal floodplain farmhouses

According to a 2019 survey, there are at least 2,000 swanky farmhouses with swimming pools, banquet halls, and other luxury amenities in the floodplains

The Noida authority and the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration have decided to take joint action against illegal farmhouses built on the Yamuna River bed, which has recently been submerged in flood water.

The move comes after the Noida authority and the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration realised that all farmhouses are right on the main riverbed area, contrary to previous claims by farmhouse owners that flood water will never touch them no matter how high the water level rises. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The move comes after the Noida authority and the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration realised that all farmhouses are right on the main riverbed area, contrary to previous claims by farmhouse owners that flood water will never touch them no matter how high the water level rises.

As of last week, when floodwaters reached the farmhouses in the region, at least 700 owners were living in their farmhouses permanently. According to an old survey conducted by the Noida authority in 2019, there are at least 2,000 swanky farmhouses with swimming pools, banquet halls, and other luxury amenities in the floodplains.

“We are surveying the flood plain area with drones because revenue department teams could not physically get to this area because there was so much water. Once the survey is completed, we will begin demolition in collaboration with the Noida authority that has notified this area,” said Maneesh Kumar Varma, district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar.

These farmhouses are built illegally and violate environmental rules in sectors 128, 129, 130, 131, 135, 151 and 152, among others. The authority has issued notices to these farmhouses several times, warning them to remove these concrete structures or face demolition. Despite repeated complaints from environmental activists and demolition notices over the years, the owners of these farmhouses have not removed the illegal structures.

“The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a standing order to demolish all farmhouses and submit a report. There are multiple cases on trial in NGT demanding the demolition of farmhouses that violate the rules,” said Varma.

In the last six months, the authority has partially demolished 50 farmhouses and issued a public notice warning everyone not to build or buy farmhouse plots because it is illegal.

Last month, some farmhouse owners approached the Allahabad high court, which directed them not to conduct construction without permission and the Noida authority to address their concerns, halting demolition.

“We are taking legal recourse in cases where the Allahabad high court granted stay orders for some farmhouses. And we are also conducting a separate survey of these illegal farmhouses to take effective action against them,” said Avinash Tripathi, officer on special duty of the Noida authority.

On June 21, 2022, the Allahabad high court, in response to a petition, directed the Noida authority to serve individual notices to farmhouse owners and address their grievances before demolition.

Aside from that, on May 20, 2013, NGT directed local government bodies, including the Noida authority and administration, to clear the Yamuna flood zone.

“This is the best time for the Noida authority and administration to demolish all farmhouses because these illegal structures not only pollute the river bed and groundwater by discharging waste, but they are also dangerous to the labourers and cattle that live in these illegal farmhouses. Hundreds of animals died during this flood in the Noida flood plain, over 5,000 hectares, because the owners did not vacate these structures on time during the flood. As a result, living on the river bed is dangerous and harms the ecology,” said Akash Vashishtha, an environmental activist and expert member of the Gautam Budh Nagar district Ganga Committee.

“Most of the farmhouse owners have only built temporary structures with wood and fencing that is allowed in these types of structures on the flood plain,” said Arun Mishra, a farmhouse owner in Sector 130. “We have planted trees and conducted agricultural activities on farm plots without harming the environment. The Noida authority must devise a policy to regularise these farmhouses because illegal colonies may spring up if the flood plain remains vacant,” he added.