HC quashes acquisition of Noida plot

The Allahabad High Court has quashed the acquisition of 2,530 square metre of land in Gautam Buddh Nagar district by Uttar Pradesh Government and set aside the lease of the plot to a private builder.
A division bench comprising Justice Rakesh Tiwari and Justice Mukhtar Ahmad passed the order on May 6 last while allowing the petition of Devi Singh and four others, who owned the plot in Soharkha Jahidabad village of Dadri Tehsil.
The plot was part of 5.537 hectares of land acquired by the state government in 2005-06.
Of total nine plots acquired by the state, compensation had been awarded to all except the petitioners who had moved the court with the prayer that the lease issued in favour of a private builder by the Noida Authority also be quashed.

The petitioners contended that the land was acquired by invoking the urgency clause in the name of "planned industrial development" yet no industry had come up on the land till the filing of the petition in 2012 and that the land was given to a builder for construction of residential premises.
It was argued by the Noida Authority's counsel that land in an industrial development area "is not merely industrial as is wrongly contended by the petitioners but according to the development plan uses (of the land) include residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, greens amenities and such other uses as may be mentioned in the Development Plan".

However, the court held that "since the award (of compensation) in respect of the plot was not declared, the acquisition proceedings are void particularly in view of law laid down by the Apex Court in this regard".