Director, 3 engineers among 38 held for violating ban on construction work in Noida, Gr Noida

A director and three engineers were among 38 people arrested on Saturday from sites of five real estate groups in Noida and Greater Noida for allegedly violating the ban on construction activities imposed in the Delhi-NCR over an alarming spike in pollution, officials said.

The crackdown on violators came a day after the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, a panel mandated by the Supreme Court, declared a "public health emergency" in the Delhi-NCR and banned construction activity till November 5 in the region.

Also, two ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants were seized from a project site of Wave Infratech in Noida, while a penalty of Rs 5 lakh was slapped on Blue Walk Pathway group in Greater Noida (West), and notices served on Mahagun and Gaurs group for violating guidelines on containing air pollution, the officials said.

A joint inspection was carried out by officials from the regional office of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, the district administration and the district police, a senior official said.

Thirty-three people were arrested from four sites in Noida by the city magistrate, while one was held by the deputy collector in Dadri. The action has been taken to ensure implementation of the EPCA guidelines and in public interest.

"Similar action would be continued in future also and EPCA guidelines complied with," Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate B N Singh told PTI.

Later, four people were arrested in Greater Noida from the sites of Migsun Wynn and Migsun Vilaasa for defying the construction ban, according to officials.

"A penalty of Rs 5 lakh was also slapped on each project for violating the norms and construction work stopped there," the officials said.

A maximum of 20 people, including a project supervisor, were arrested from Wave Infratech's site in Noida, City Magistrate Shailendra Mishra said. Seven people, including a manager and three engineers, were held from the site of Sikka Kaamna Greens in Sector 79, he said.

Five people, including a supervisor, were held from the site of Amore Wave City Centre in Sector 32, while one person was held from the site of Ace Tower on Nithari Road in Sector 40 over illegal construction, he added.

Vinod Kumar, the director of Saviour Green Arch, was arrested from the group's project site in Bisrakh, Greater Noida where construction work was found underway. A case has been lodged against the group, Dadri Deputy Collector Rajeev Rai said.

Mahagun and Gaurs Group had a stone crusher plant and a mixer plant at their project sites and have been issued a notice which has sought their explanation, failing which action would be initiated against them, Rai told PTI.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Noida and Greater Noida were recorded above 400, that is, in the "severe" category on Saturday, according to official figures.