Fortunes hang in balance at Noida Extension

After much brainstorming and research, 29-year-old media professional Sumantha Rathore booked a flat at Mahagun MyWoods in Noida Extension last November. She paid Rs 4.50 lakh and was brimming with excitement at having her own home. Then the predicament. Supreme Court's refusal on Wednesday to allow construction of apartments in one of the villages in Noida Extension has not only made the builders wonder about future course of action but has also left thousands of investors in a bind, with their hard earned money stuck in various projects.


Dreams gone bust: Construction of housing projects at Noida extension.

The apex court turned down the plea of the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority and builders, including Supertech, Amrapali, Mahagun and Ajnara Group, to stay the May 12 Allahabad high court order that quashed the authority's notification, acquiring 156.3 hectares land in Shahberi village. A Bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on GNIDA for undertaking the exercise of allocation of land to the group of builders in complete violation for the purpose of which it was acquired and directed it to hand over to the villagers and farmers.

"This was my first property which I bought. I had never thought that it would get into trouble in such a way. I have full sympathy for the villagers whose land was taken away by Noida Authority at throwaway prices and then given to builders at much higher rates. But ultimately the axe has fallen on us. Now we are at the mercy of the builders. They have their own whims and fancies. Last time when we got in touch with the builders, they said that they would return the money by mid-July, but only after deducting some amount. The builder says that he is deducting this amount towards service tax and registration charges," she said.

Who pays?
"There is no reason why we should pay this amount to the builders. We are neither able to avail any services nor get the possession of the flat. So why should we pay this amount?" questioned Rathore. However the company is maintaining their stand that MyWoods is not a project under dispute. "It's only Myra which is affected by the SC decision.u00a0 MyWoods is a part of the same land but those who have applied for refund will have to bear 10 per cent of the flat's cost," a Mahagun official said.

Investors have also created a Facebook page and started blogging to unite all such investors seeking refund from builders. Mukesh Ray, an IT executive at an MNC who started blogging to unite all investors of Amrapali, said, "This has helped us increase our visibility and helped us know each other well. We keep meeting in a periodic manner to decide the course of action and other development. We have filed several RTIs with Greater Noida Authority but have not received any proper answers.

In limbo
Prateek Sharma, who invested Rs 5 lakh in Supertech's Eco Village II said: "When the Allahabad High Court ordered to return the land to the villagers, I started pursuing my case with the builder. But every time I call, I am given a new number to get in touch with. There isn't a proper grievance cell to look after this matter. Now with the apex court verdict, we will have to look for some new ventures." The authority is, however, yet to appeal against the high court's two other orders setting aside the acquisition of 72 hectares in Surajpur and 170 hectares in Gulistanpur villages.

6000
Number of investors affected by the Supreme Court decision

Fine print
The bench hearing the case said even before the government approved the use of land from industrial to residential purposes, the authority allotted the land to some builders which is 'colourable'. The counsel, appearing for Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, had contended that the acquisition was part of its 'well-known' 2021 plan called the Industrial Development Plan, which is a generic term that includes commercial and residential use. The high court order had come on the plea of landowners and farmers who had challenged the government notification for land acquisition issued on September 5, 2007.

The Other Side
Mahagun's director Dhiraj Jain, in a statement posted on their group's web site says the decision of the court did not affect their project - Mahagun Mywoods - at all, since it does not fall in the area which was disputed.
"Only some portion of land, which has been set apart for future development, might fall in the said area, but nothing has taken off there yet," Jain has been quoted as saying in the statement. Supertech said it has not launched or sold any project on the land that fell under the disputed site. "We are happy to assure you that all bookings received from our valued clients in the said projects are unaffected," said the company statement. "We hereby appeal to all our esteemed customers not to panic."

Straight talk
Sumantha Rathore, Investor
I have full sympathy for the villagers whose land was taken away by Noida Authority at throwaway prices and then given to builders at much higher rates. But ultimately the axe has fallen on us.

Prateek Sharma, Investor
There isn't a proper grievance cell to look after this matter. Now with the apex court verdict, we will have to look for some new ventures.