Sports City in Noida: NGT seeks Centre's response

The Centre was today directed by the National Green Tribunal to file its response on a petition alleging that an upcoming housing project, Sports City, in Sector 150 of Noida was against the prescribed norms of Noida Master Plan-2031.
A green bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) besides others and fixed the matter for next hearing on August 11.
"Issue notice to the MoEF, Noida, National Capital Region Planning Board...," the bench said.
The tribunal's order came over a petition filed by Mahendra Pandey.

During the hearing, Pandey's counsel Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal claimed that Uttar Pradesh and in particular the Noida Authority has issued the scheme of Sports City, Noida, "without obtaining mandatory approval of its sub regional plan (Draft Master Plan-2031) from the NCRPB.
According to the petitioner "as per NCRPB Act 1985, no authority has the power to change the nature of the land and hence the change of land use of a part of proposed Sports City (from Recreational Green to Residential) is against the law of the land."
The petition alleges that "while drafting the proposed scheme of the Sports City the Noida authority has favoured the builder lobby instead of taking care and protection of the Environment and thus the claim of the Noida Authority to provide the World Class Sports City is nothing but an eyewash.