Uttar Pradesh to consider forming a civic body for Noida

The move follows the Supreme Court’s August 13 2025 directions, issued in a case related to an alleged land compensation scam involving the Noida authority

NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh Infrastructure and Industrial Development Department (UPSIDA) has prepared a detailed note on formation of a Metropolitan Corporation in Noida, which will now be placed before the state cabinet for a final decision, officials said on Thursday.

Residents have welcomed the move of the state government because they were already demanding for the same. (HT Archive)

The HT has a copy of the letter issued on Thursday by the state industry department.

The move follows the Supreme Court’s August 13 2025 directions, issued in a case related to an alleged land compensation scam involving the Noida authority.

The case involved allegations that certain Noida authority officials were hand in glove with private beneficiaries to secure enhanced land compensation without any legal sanction, said officials.

Residents have welcomed the move of the state government because they were already demanding for the same.

“We demanded replacement of Noida authority with a municipal body that can better take care of the civic functions. We wrote to the government, Noida authority, and Noida MLA Pankaj Singh over it. We also suggested that if they do not replace it, then they must establish a separate municipal wing that takes care of the municipal work because the industrial body’s job is to acquire land, develop it and sell the same instead of having expertise of looking after the municipal work,” advocate PS Jain, president of Delhi-NCR RWAs (CONRWA), a citizens’ group, told HT.

Uttar Pradesh industry minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi spokesperson refused to HT’s request for a comment on the issue.

In 2025, while monitoring the criminal proceedings and successive Special Investigation Team (SIT) probes, the SC went beyond individual culpability and flagged systemic governance failures in Noida in its order delivered in August.

The apex court observed that the findings of the SIT pointed to deeper structural issues in the Authority’s functioning, warranting consideration of broader institutional reforms rather than piecemeal corrective measures.

It pointed out that the SIT’s findings suggested the need for reforms such as the possible formation of a Metropolitan Corporation to improve transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in urban governance.

The SIT’s report had delivered an assessment of the Authority’s functioning, highlighting excessive centralisation of decision-making, land allotment policies allegedly favouring builders, weak internal oversight mechanisms, and a lack of transparency in key decisions.

The panel formed by the apex court flagged the absence of regular public reporting on the status of projects and policy decisions, as well as the wide discretionary powers exercised by a small group of officials.

It also warned that Noida was nearing the limits of its available land bank, which could pose serious challenges for future development if governance structures are not reworked. Based on these findings, the SIT recommended replacing the existing authority-driven model with a metropolitan governance framework.

In its report, the SIT suggested that a Metropolitan Corporation with elected ward representatives could provide a more democratic and participatory governance model, said officials.

Such a structure, it argued, would allow residents to directly engage with decision-making processes and ensure that local concerns are adequately reflected in policy formulation. Cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai were cited as examples where metropolitan governance has helped strengthen service delivery and public engagement, said officials.

The SIT also found that Noida officials were involved in 20 cases of excess compensation payments amounting to about ₹118 crore and recommended a detailed probe into the assets of the officials concerned as well as those of their relatives, pointing to possible abuse of official position, the SIT told the apex court.