NOIDA: The Allahabad high court has allowed Experion Developers Pvt Ltd to take possession of 4.8 acres in Sector 45 that was allotted to it for a group housing project more than a year ago.
This court dismissed a petition filed by residents of the adjacent Kanshiram Yojana EWS colony claiming that the land should be used for building civic amenities and an approach road for them.
The residents who moved the petition against the land allotted to Experion live in a colony that was developed by the Authority in 2008 for widows, those physically challenged and people living below the poverty line under the Manyavar Shri Kashi Ram Ji Shahari Gareeb Awas Yojana.
In Dec 2022, the Authority invited e-bids for the allotment of this plot. Experion secured the land after paying a premium of Rs 200 crore. The possession letter was issued to the company in July 2023.
A group of residents, however, challenged the allotment, arguing that the land should have been reserved for a community centre and an access road to the EWS colony.
A few residents allegedly broke through the wire fencing surrounding the project site, trespassed on the land, staging protests, and halting construction work. Some even attempted to construct temporary structures on the site illegally, the Authority informed the court.
While the residents moved three petitions against the land allotment, Experion moved one in response.
During the course of the hearing, the court underscored that Noida Authority was well within its rights to allot the land to Experion because it was never considered a part of the EWS colony.
“Nothing has been brought on record to show that this land has ever been earmarked for future development or could be used as a road,” the court observed.
The HC also noted that the Authority had tried to reach a compromise with the residents, offering to widen a 9m road to 12m by utilising land from the compound of a nearby water tank. The residents, the court observed, had agreed to the arrangement. However, during the hearing, one petitioner retracted from the settlement.
The Authority argued that this single objection had stalled the entire project. It also argued that the petitioners, who were allotted houses free of cost, were “trying to extract additional concession”.
The court backed the Authority’s decision to reach a compromise. “This court considers it to be a very positive gesture on the part of Noida Authority to allow or give benefit to the allottees of EWS colony, which was not earlier granted,” read the Oct 25 order by Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar.
The court asked the Authority to ensure Experion was handed the land peacefully and could proceed with construction without any interference.
The bench also ordered the Authority to complete the widening of the 9m road within two months.
