Taking advantage of hectic schedule of district administration for the lok Sabha elections in the Uttar Pradesh, squatters have encroached on large chunk of land belonging to Noida authority. In the last couple of weeks since the Model Code of Conduct was imposed, land grabbers have constructed homes, categorised colonies, opened shops and godowns on Government land.
Sources said encroached land located in the vicinity of Yamuna Expressway and in Hindon-Yamuna interfluve region was recently freed from encroachers by the authority.According to local authorities, over 50 per cent police personnel and officials of other departments are on election duty in various parts of the State. Most of the departments are facing a staff crunch. This manpower shortage was not only affecting working of these departments but also giving a boost to the business of unlawful tenants.
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The glaring example is that some of squatters have also started selling encroached land on cheap rates to outsiders claiming the ownership of land.Sources claimed that massive encroachments have been done on floodplains, gram sabha land, water bodies, grassland in and around flood plain or land in possession of Government, green belt, public utility spaces and other type of notified land.
The most affected areas are floodplains of Hindon and Yamuna rivers, sectors along with Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, Sorkha region and sectors located on outskirts of the city.Though the authorities are aware of surge in illegal land grabbing, they cannot initiate action against it due to election duty.Manoj Rai, OSD of Noida Authority, confirmed that there are reports of illegal occupation of land in some areas during election periods and details have been sough in this regard.
Once election is over, massive drive will be conducted to get back the land from illegal possession, he said. “We have sought detailed reports from all circles of the city and are planning to crack down on them with the help of local police,” said the OSD.Meanwhile, the district administration has also announced to conduct such drive across the district.