Yeida notices to 400 over illegal construction near airport

YEIDA is set to carry out demolition drives in affected areas after the conclusion of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on June 4

GREATER NOIDA: Taking a serious note of the rampant illegal construction in close proximity of Noida International Airport, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) has issued notice to around 400 people living in different areas including Jewar and Jahangirpur in Gautam Budh Nagar, Mathura, Tappal in Aligarh and Jhajar in Bulandshahr, and ordered them to remove encroachments, official said on Monday.

In the last two years, nearly 20 major anti-encroachment drives undertaken by Yeida have resulted in freeing of land worth ₹2,000 crore from illegal constructions. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The authority is set to carry out demolition drives in affected areas after the conclusion of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on June 4.

In the last two years, nearly 20 major anti-encroachment drives undertaken by Yeida have resulted in freeing of land worth ₹2,000 crore from illegal constructions.

Yeida’s jurisdiction spans six districts along the Yamuna Expressway, including Gautam Budh Nagar, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Agra, Mathura, and Hathras.

To be sure, the upcoming Noida International Airport in Jewar has led to a significant rise in land prices in the surrounding areas, drawing investors. However, some land mafia have taken advantage of this situation by illegally occupying the authority’s land and constructing unauthorised colonies. Also, dhabas and restaurants have come up on notified land along the expressway.

“The Yeida action against the illegal construction will continue to make sure no illegal construction takes place in our notified area,” said chief executive officer (Yeida) Arun Vir Singh on Monday.

In Dankaur town, the Nagar Panchayat officials have allegedly approved maps for such colonies in collusion with the colonisers, resulting in many families settling there.

Despite previous warnings from the authority, illegal construction is rampant. The land mafia are luring people with dreams of proximity to the airport, Film City, and Heritage City, causing them to invest their hard-earned money in these unauthorised projects.

Yeida has asked the colonisers to remove their illegal constructions and vacate the encroached land until June 4.

To curb illegal encroachment, the authority has sent letters to the district administrations of Agra, Mathura, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, and Gautam Budh Nagar, as well as police stations and the power corporation. They have been instructed to not issue registry and give electricity connections to illegal colonies without the authority’s permission, said officials.

The administration has also been asked to provide information before registration, to prevent illegal encroachment.

In Dankaur Nagar Panchayat’s case, a case of legalising an illegal colony came to light, where a bid was made to legitimise the colony by getting the map of the residential colony approved by Nagar Panchayat.

The case has prompted Yeida’s CEO to order an investigation.