NOIDA: The Gautam Budh Nagar
district administration cracked down on the land mafia on Saturday. Amid heavy
security, about 300 acres on the Hindon floodplains, estimated to be worth Rs
6,000 crore, were freed up. The move comes five days after the National Green
Tribunal imposed a ban on construction and directed UP, Delhi and Haryana to
demolish illegal structures, both temporary or permanent, on the floodplains. The UP police have registered an FIR against unknown
people for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and fraud. The Authority
acted on allegations about UP government officials conniving with the mafia to
usurp large tracts of the floodplains on the Yamuna and the Hindon. A drive was
launched by chairman and CEO Rama Raman. "Thousands of acres of fertile
land in the floodplains is being usurped and sold to buyers for constructing
houses," Raman said. "The aim is to get hold of the land sharks.
Officials conniving with these unscrupulous elements will not be spared,"
he said. The CCEO has asked for a list of the usurpers. He also cautioned
people to not get duped by land sharks. The
demolition drive, which began around 6am, saw the district administration officials,
cops from six police stations and 200 PAC officials join forces with the Noida
Authority. "Nearly 12 lakh sq m of land on the main road between Noida and
Greater Noida near Haibatpur village in Greater Noida (west) area, was
levelled," said Rajesh Prakash, Noida's administrative officer. In about
two hours, 20 bulldozers, 20 dumpers and two cranes razed small houses and
boundary walls across 2km. "Scores of plots carved up by the land mafia
were also cleared," Prakash said. Around 200 structures were demolished,
affecting some 100 families. As the demolitions began, villagers and property
owners put up a resistance. Many claimed their properties were registered and
they had documents to prove ownership. The district officials, however, refused
to relent.
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