Yeida hires ex-army personnel to protect its land from encroachment

The authorities have also directed Lekhpals and project engineers to be held responsible for any illegal construction in their areas

GREATER NOIDA: The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) said on Sunday it has hired 95 ex-army personnel who will be deployed at different sites for protecting the government land.

The hired staff will be held responsible in case the land mafia grabs government land and builds unauthorised projects near Noida International airport, said officials. (HT Archive)

The staff will be held responsible in case the land mafia grabs government land and builds unauthorised projects near Noida International airport, said officials.

Officials said that to prevent unauthorised activities in sectors 18, 20, 22D, 24, 24A, 22E, 21, 28, 29, 32, and 33, a total of 85 former soldiers have been deployed. Additionally, 10 more former soldiers have been deployed to stop illegal mining in sectors 5, 8, 8D, 9, and 11.

“These new staff members will be responsible to make sure that the mining in the vacant plots is contained, and the government land is protected. They will ensure that no unauthorised construction takes place in Yamuna City area. They will stop such activities and also inform senior officers in need to enforce the law,” said Shailendra Bhatia, additional chief executive officer, Yeida, on Sunday.

The authorities have also directed Lekhpals and project engineers to be held responsible for any illegal construction in their areas. This move aims to effectively control illegal mining and construction in the Yeida area, officials said.

At the meeting, Yeida’s additional CEO Rajesh Kumar met former soldiers and gave them necessary instructions. It was also decided to provide an additional Mahindra Bolero for patrolling, in addition to the four already available, to keep a close watch on illegal mining and construction.

The security force was assigned additional responsibilities to take action against illegal mining and construction, as they will submit daily reports to the police, project department, and revenue department, said officials, privy to the developments.

These reports will enable concerned officials, including lekhpals and tehsildars, to take action under Section 10 of what of Uttar Pradesh Industrial Act-1976 and demolish illegal structures, they added.

As per the Act, no person or company can develop a project without getting land from the Yamuna authority. We have through public notices warned the general public not to invest in such unauthorised projects being proposed without having any map or other approvals in place, said officials.

Yeida has earmarked this area for the development of Logistics Hub as it is located near Noida International Airport set to be inaugurated later his month.

Yeida has notified 335,200 hectares of land in six districts including Gautam Budh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura, and Agra along the 165km Yamuna Expressway. It has notified agricultural land of 1,149 villages, which falls in these six districts, said officials.

Notably, the Gautam Budh Nagar district has three authorities, and the notified areas under these authorities have witnessed widespread encroachment and mining in the vacant plots that cause ecological issues.

Yeida’s CEO Rakesh Kumar Singh in a media brief stated that the authority is taking tough measures against illegal mining and construction in the authority’s area.

To contain such encroachments, and unauthorised construction, the authorities are now taking stern action. Similarly, Yeida has decided to intensify its action by engaging retired army personnel who will aide special measures in this direction, officials said.