50 illegal farmhouses on Yamuna bank razed by Noida Authority

NEW DELHI: Over 50 farmhouses that had come up illegally along the Yamuna floodplains in Noida in Uttar Pradesh were razed during a mega anti-encroachment drive on Wednesday, Noida Authority officials said. The demolished properties were located in an area spanning 1,45,000 sq metres and estimated to be costing around Rs 55 crore, the officials said.

“Any type of construction is prohibited in the (Yamuna) floodplains area in Noida. Today, the demolition of several illegal and unauthorised farmhouses/constructions was carried out on 25,000 sq metres of land in Gulawali village. In today’s action, a total of 1,45,000 sq. land, costing Rs 55 crore was cleared of encroachment,” Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari tweeted in Hindi.

Noida Authority’s Officer on Special Duty (Land) Prasun Dwivedi said besides Gulawali, illegal farmhouses and constructions in Tilwada village were also demolished during the operation that started at 9 am on Wednesday.

“Altogether, 55 farmhouses and illegal constructions were razed. For the entire process, about 150 employees of Noida Authority including senior officials were on the ground along with police and PAC personnel,” Dwivedi said.

Nine JCB machines and eight dumpers were engaged for the drive. The OSD said the Authority will follow up the action with legal proceedings against people involved in illegal colonization and lodge an FIR with the police.
With PTI inputs