Yeida to cancel allotment of non-operational industrial units

The move follows Yeida chief executive officer Arun Vir Singh’s last week site inspection in Sector 29 when he found 14 units being non-operational at the ground

GREATER NOIDA: The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) in an office order has warned owners of the industrial plots of cancelling their allotment if they do not make promised industrial units operational within stipulated time frame, officials said on Wednesday.

As per the rules, when the authority allots a plot for industrial use, it gives a certain time of 2-3 years or more depending upon the category of the unit, failing which it has a mandate to either cancel the allotment or levy penalty, said officials. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Also, in case they are found selling their industrial plots without the unit being operational, their allotment will be cancelled, they added.

The move follows Yeida chief executive officer (CEO) Arun Vir Singh’s last week site inspection in Sector 29 when he found 14 units being non-operational at the ground.

“We have also written to the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate (DM) Maneesh Kumar Verma seeking details of the agreement to sale, general power of attorney and other documents through which the industrial plots have been sold. Once we have the details of sale of our industrial plots, we will check if the unit remains non-operational in the survey report. If it is verified through a survey report that the unit has been sold without even being operational, we will take action, including cancellation,” said Yeida CEO on Wednesday.

As per the rules, when the authority allots a plot for industrial use, it gives a certain time of 2-3 years or more depending upon the category of the unit, failing which it has a mandate to either cancel the allotment or levy penalty, said officials.

If the owner of the plot does not set up a unit and run operations on time, it defeats the purpose of creating jobs and business opportunities, said officials.

Also, there are cases where the owners of the plot build temporary tin sheds on the plot giving an impression that the unit has become operational. In reality, the unit remains without the operations of any kind thereby misleading the authority, said officials.

To contain this practice, the Yeida has decided to start a site survey in all sectors including 28, 29, 30, 32 and 33 among others to ascertain if the unit is operational or not.

On Wednesday, Yeida CEO Singh and the GB Nagar DM Verma discussed the issue at the sector Omega II office.

As per Yeida data, it allotted 1,233 industrial plots before 2013 and since 2013 it has allotted 3,215 plots to set up industrial units of many categories including Medical Device Park, Apparel, IT and corporate office among others. However, a large number of the units remain non-functional, thereby, failing to create any business opportunities or jobs in the region, said officials.

“We have made it clear to owners that they will have to construct at least half of the building with concrete instead of building a temporary tin shed to obtain an operational certificate. Many plot owners have built temporary sheds on their industrial plots, and applied to obtain a functional certificate so that they can sell the plot without even starting any business on the same. We will not let this happen,” said Singh.

Rishabh Nigam, president, Yamuna Expressway entrepreneur association, said Yeida’s move is a much-needed step in the right direction. “A lobby of property dealers is trying to make money by selling industrial plots, affecting the authority’s vision of developing a new industrial area,” he added.