NOIDA: The current market value of this prime commercial plot in the centre of the city is around Rs 11,000 crore. It spreads out across 4.5 lakh square metres, the size of 80 football fields, and two sectors – 32 and 25A. A real estate goldmine.
But in Noida, real estate has a penchant for the strange, and this is right up there.
For six years, this plot lay with the Wave group, which built only on a slice of it – two towers that are yet to be completed – and eventually surrendered the rest to Noida Authority in 2017.
Since then, while Noida Authority looked for ways to put the land back on the block, it found another use for it. The horticulture department, looking for a collection point for dry waste to turn it into compost, found in it a convenient location and deployed workers and machinery for the job.
As a result, the city’s horticulture waste – twigs, branches, flowers – was directed to the plot, becoming an unofficial landfill that spread across a large expanse of the plot as tonnes of rubbish ended up and accumulated here.
On Monday, this landfill caught fire, continuously exposing thousands of people to hazardous smoke, the second time since last May. It had taken a week then to douse the flames fully. This time, the firefight has crossed 48 hours and flames continue to simmer under the scorched heaps.
A Noida Authority source told TOI on Wednesday a commercial scheme had been launched for the plot last year. “However, we did not find suitable bidders and the project did not take off. This year, we have decided to launch another commercial scheme,” the source said.
In the upcoming scheme, which will be launched after the Lok Sabha polls, this land, which measures 112 acres, will be carved out into 15 plots for commercial ventures.
The plot forms a rectangle with four of the city’s main roads flanking it – Noida elevated road, which runs parallel to Maharaja Agrasen Marg, on one side, Shivalik Marg and NTPC underpass on one, Captain Shashikant Sharma road, which connects Golf Course to City Centre, on another and Noida Marg, which connects Maharaja Agrasen Marg to Captain Shashikant Sharma Marg, on the fourth.
There are residential and commercial areas in close proximity, so concerns about the fire’s impact are widespread. Logix City Centre and Wave City Centre are in the immediate neighbourhood, and Shilp Haat and ISKCON Temple in Sector 33, Modi Mall in Sector 25 and residential areas in Nithari, Sector 31 and Sector 35 are all in the vicinity.
Noida Authority sources did not reveal the exact amount of horticulture waste at the landfill when it caught fire on Monday evening but said about 30-40 tractors make runs to the landfill every day.
Anand Mohan, deputy director (horticulture), said the waste generated from pruning of trees in 60 sectors is directed to this site. “We get calls from residents in sectors and villages that trees in their neighbourhood need pruning. Right now, there is no technology which can immediately process this horticulture waste into compost. We bring the waste to this site because there is no other suitable place in Noida. Here, we have set up some churning machines that process the waste. But before this, we have to allow it some time to dry,” he said.
Mohan claimed the fire had been started by some miscreants. Three guards are posted there in three shifts. One of them, Sanjay Kumar, said on Wednesday his colleague Swatantra Kumar was on duty on Monday evening. “Two-three persons entered the site, lit the fire and fled on a bike. Since the guard was alone, he could not catch the miscreants. The guard informed the fire department,” he said.
Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M told TOI he planned to engage a private agency for management of horticulture waste. “However, the model code of conduct came into effect and this tender was not released. Once the election is over, we will engage a private agency,” he said.
Noida has decided to clear this site and shift all horticulture waste to three places in sectors 10, 117 and 150.
