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The Allahabad High Court, of a division bench comprising Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh has ordered the Noida Authority to maintain the status quo regarding its decision to demolish farmhouses allegedly built on the floodplain of the Yamuna River. The order was issued in response to a petition filed on February 14th by farmhouse owner Ratna Mitra after the authority rejected his objections to a public notice directing the demolition of farmhouses in Sector 135 of Noida.
Mitra's legal team, represented by Senior Advocate VK Singh and assisted by Aishwarya Sinha and Devika Kapoor argued that the authority lacked the necessary jurisdiction to order the demolitions, particularly in the absence of floodplain demarcation. The National Mission for Clean Ganga Committee, established to determine floodplain zones, was also mentioned. The High Court has directed the Noida Authority and the National Mission for Clean Ganga to file counter-affidavits. The case is scheduled for the next hearing in the week beginning July 2, 2023.
The Noida Authority issued a public notice in June 2022, stating that no construction was permissible on the floodplain of the Yamuna and Hindon rivers within its notified area. It also threatened to recover the cost of the demolition drive from owners of illegal farmhouses. Several groups of farmhouse owners approached the HC seeking a stay on the demolition drive.
Last year, the court had directed the Noida Authority to maintain the status quo until individual farmhouse owners filed their objections, and after assessing the same, the Authority should pass speaking orders in reply. However, according to the current petitioner, instead of passing any speaking order, the Noida Authority arbitrarily rejected the objections without citing a proper reason. The Noida Authority started the demolition drive in May 2022 and had issued a public notice stating no construction was permissible in the floodplain zone.
The Allahabad HC has given farmhouse owners 10 days to file objections and the equivalent amount of time to the Noida Authority to pass orders on them. Status Quo is to be maintained until then by the Authority.
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