New Delhi, July 6
The Supreme Court today confirmed the quashing of the acquisition of farmers’ land in Greater Noida, holding that the Uttar Pradesh Government had illegally obtained 156 hectares under the ruse of industrial development but changed the land use within 11 days to hand it over to private builders for raising multi-storied residential apartments.

A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly ruled that the Allahabad High Court was right in cancelling the acquisition as the state government had used emergency provisions under the Land Acquisition Act to deny the farmers an opportunity to put forth their objections to their being deprived of their land.

During the arguments, the Bench repeatedly asked the state government as to why the change in land use was made “overnight.” Dismissing the petitions by the Greater Noida Authority (GNA) and several private builders against the June verdict of the HC, the Bench said it would pass a reasoned verdict later. The Bench also expressed its dismay over such instances taking place in several parts of the country with most of the states carrying out a sinister design to deprive the farmers of their livelihood in the name of economic development.

The governments had scant respect for the sentiments of farmers, the court felt. The SC ruling in the case will hit hard thousands of people who have booked flats with the builders in the area either for their own use or for the sake of investment.

Having gone ahead with their projects, the builders would have to now deal with the farmers directly and convince them to accept more money and not insist on the return of their properties.

 New Delhi: About 6,000 people, who had booked flats in residential complexes being built by realty firms like Amrapali at Greater Noida, will be affected by the Supreme Court's order asking the state government to return land to their original owners. 

But an apex body of the realtors assured that the affected flat owners will either be moved into other projects or their money will be returned. 

Amrapali, which is the biggest of the seven realty firms who have to return land following the Court order, said the firm had already sifted about 3,000 of its buyers to other company projects without any price escalation. About 6,000 buyers have been affected but developers have taken steps to compensate buyers by shifting them to some other projects or refunding money," apex realtors' body CREDAI President (Western Uttar Pradesh Chapter) Manoj Gaur said. — PTI

The UP Government had illegally obtained 156 hectares under the ruse of industrial development but changed the land use within 11 days to hand it over to private builders for raising multi-storied residential apartments.