Noida: Standing in a lush green field along the Yamuna in Noida Sector 135, a real estate broker makes an offer that the customer can’t refuse. No, he isn’t Don Corleone from The Godfather. But the deal is enticing – one bigha of land for Rs 55 lakh, and promise of swift registry.
Behind the broker, a bright yellow and red board hanging from an electricity pole reads: “Book Now: Dubai Farm House available for pool parties, weddings, kitty parties, and night stays”. Gable roofs, glass windows, manicured lawns and swimming pools – the farmhouses in sector 135 give a glimpse of rustic countryside setting.
But there is a catch with this too-good-to-be-true deal.
“I am offering you land for such a low price. You won’t find a deal like this anywhere else in NCR. And as for demolition concerns, leave that to me,” the broker assured the customer who left in his black BMW as soon as the conversation was over.
The Yamuna floodplains are home to hundreds of farmhouses owned by the rich and powerful from Delhi — from retired supreme court judges to politicians and former government officers. Built on land originally notified for agricultural purposes by the Noida Authority, these constructions have come to symbolise everything illegal that’s going on here. Cycles of partial demolition drives undertaken by authorities have failed to deter construction on the ecologically sensitive zone. With no inquiry launched into the matter, property dealers continue to sell riverbed land at cheap rates. A farmhouse black market is thriving in Delhi’s neighbourhood. And a nexus works in perfect harmony that includes middlemen, the owners, farmers and the local administration that appears helpless against the powerful. Every stakeholder has an excuse ready for inaction. And a code of silence permeates through the ranks of administration, hinting at a quid pro quo that abets the growth of farmhouses.
We have sent legal notices, however, proper demolitions are not possible
at the moment. Since the problem is old, we have to take in account all the factors, including social and economic. We are approaching the
problem in a systematic manner
–Manish Kumar Verma, DM, Gautam Buddha Nagar
Gautam Buddha Nagar DM Manish Kumar Verma labelled the farmhouses as “illegal construction on the floodplains.”
“We have sent legal notices, however, proper demolitions are not possible at the moment. Since the problem is old, we have to take into account all the factors, including social and economic. We are approaching the problem in a systematic manner,” he said.
In 2023, when Yamuna water levels hit an all-time high, the catchment area, along with the farmhouses, was submerged. Environmentalists cited the construction in these floodplains as the obstruction restricting the water flow.
But farmhouse owners see their position differently.
In May this year, the owners of 50 farmhouses approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) demanding compensation for the damages caused by the 2023 floods. The petitioners have accused the Noida administration of not constructing a bund between the villages where the farmhouses were constructed and the river. This has led to water mixed with chemical effluents reaching their farmhouses and causing damage to their property.
“The administration is not going to provide compensation for the illegal construction on the Yamuna flood plains. These farmhouses are illegal and we have been reiterating this time and again,” said Verma.
Even the Noida Authority, which has been accused of maintaining double standards vis a vis these farmhouses, said that while the brokers selling such parcels are promising a registry of land to the buyers, in reality, it has stopped.
Dr Lokesh M, Noida Authority’s CEO said that in October 2020, the Gautam Buddh Nagar district disaster management committee passed an order “regulating sale and purchase of illegal/unauthorized buildings in notified areas of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway as well as land and buildings on the floodplains of Yamuna and Hindon rivers.”
These properties started coming up sometime in the late 1990s when the Mayawati government was in power, various officials of the Noida Authority told ThePrint. Vast swathes of land, privately owned by farmers residing in villages such as Dostpur Mangrauli Khadar, Chak Mangrola, Assadullapur, Chhaprauli Khadar, Nangli Nangla, abutting the river Yamuna were sold off by villagers with help from brokers. These middlemen marketed the riverside as the countryside — pitched them as getaways to the rich from Delhi and sold them at throwaway prices.
“It is not only the Mayawati government but the illegality has continued unabated in other governments as well. And this could not have been possible without the complicity of the administration,” said advocate Pramendra Bhati, a Noida-based lawyer and former president of the District Civil Court Bar Association.
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Build, demolish, built
Sitting on a beige-coloured sofa at his house in Ghaziabad, environmentalist and advocate Akash Vashishtha reads out the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order 2016: “No person shall construct any structure whether permanent or temporary for residential or commercial or industrial or any other purposes in the River Ganga, Bank of River Ganga or its tributaries or active flood plain area of River Ganga or its tributaries.”
Yamuna is a tributary of the Ganga.
Vashishtha has been vocal about the construction. He is connected to other environmentalists in Noida through WhatsApp and often meets them to raise the issue with the Authority.
The environmentalist’s 2013 petition on the “illegal construction on Yamuna flood plains” prompted the NGT to order authorities in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to “demolish unauthorised and illegal constructions …in accordance with the law.”
However, little action was taken, he said.
“Intermittent demolitions took place initially but everything eventually returned to normal,” Vashishtha lamented, showing his pile of documents —the NGT petition, the court order.
In Sector 135, these farmhouses stand shoulder to shoulder, hardly leaving a trace of once vast agricultural land. They are guarded by the caretakers mostly from the neighbourhood. But on weekends, the quiet is broken by the occasional visit of the owners or lavish parties by those who rent the place for a day or two.
Over the years, these farmhouses have also attracted police crackdown as they have emerged as a hotspot for hosting rave parties, where illegal liquor and hookah are served to large gatherings without the requisite licence or permission.
Vashishtha, as an expert member of the District Ganga Committee, has been raising his concerns regarding the farmhouses in the monthly meetings. The last meeting took place on 14 June. With monsoon around the corner, the DM has instructed officials to monitor the situation in areas encroached.
“Electricity connections of all structures on Yamuna and Hindon floodplains are also directed to be snapped by the Ganga Committee,” said Vashishtha.
According to River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order 2016, “No person shall construct any structure whether permanent or temporary for residential or commercial or industrial or any other purposes in the River Ganga, Bank of River Ganga or its tributaries or active flood plain area of River Ganga or its tributaries.”
District Ganga committees, a part of National Mission for Cleaning Ganga (NMCG), were formed in 2016 in the areas along the Ganga River basin to create a district-level mechanism to ensure management and pollution control of the Ganga River and its tributaries. The meetings include officials from the Noida Authority, Irrigation Department, Pollution Department, and the DM.
In every meeting, Vashishtha said that authorities discuss the number of ‘partial’ demolitions that were carried out. The environmentalist narrates last year’s incident that captures a cycle that plays out every few months.
Verma had pulled up the Noida Authority officials, asking them to park JCBs near the farmhouses.
“The DM said that he would provide the police force to help with the demolitions but nothing happened because the Noida Authority didn’t take any action. For a few days, partial demolitions were carried out to show that they were working but after that, it stopped,” he said.
Demolition orders were issued, officials reached, but the drive was a mere eyewash that saw minor actions — some boundary walls and a portion of some swimming pools were demolished instead of a complete dismantling of these structures.
“The reason nothing substantial is happening on the ground is because of the collusion between the Noida Authority, irrigation officers, police, and the farmhouse owners. They are acting under some influence. There is no reason for them not to comply with the Ganga Committee orders,” said Vashishtha.
Another environmentalist, Vikrant Tongad, who works with Noida Authority to revive old ponds, said that apart from disturbing the flow of the river, the sewerage and solid waste from farmhouses go directly into the Yamuna.
“Water table is high here. The farmhouse owners make septic tanks with red bricks, which percolate and pollute underground water because the water table is high near the river. There is no official body for sewerage or solid waste management in these areas as they were not meant for residential construction,” said Tongad.
In 2021, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report underlined that the farmhouse schemes launched in Noida between 2008-2011 lacked “requisite permission from Uttar Pradesh government” and allotments under such schemes were done in a “questionable manner.”
“The CAG report made some observations about the method of allotment of these farmhouses, price fixation and irregularities. All constructions on Yamuna floodplains are illegal. We don’t provide electricity and water and have not given NOC. Initially, a registry was given to these farmhouses but now, even that has stopped. Now, the matter is at the Plot Allotment Committee (PAC) level,” said Dr Lokesh M.
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The legal loophole
A worn-out piece of paper is pasted on a huge iron gate in Noida Sector 135. It’s a notice that said the property “is a subject matter of challenge before the High Court” with the signature of advocate Ashwarya Sinha.
Right next to it is pasted another note—by Noida Authority—that declares such properties “illegal constructions on Yamuna flood plains.”
Based out of Delhi’s Defence Colony, advocate Sinha represents the interests of hundreds of farmhouse owners in Noida before the Allahabad High Court in 2022. Most of his 50 clients are residents of Delhi with farmhouses in Noida. Sinha was approached by a collective of farmhouse owners called the Harit Kisan Kalyan Samiti (HKKS). HKKS, which is a collective of farmhouse owners, filed the petition.
On 8 June 2022, Sinha said that his clients—the farmhouse owners—received a public notice for demolition by the Authority. Within two days, the cranes were standing outside the farmhouses. They also demolished the boundary walls of a few farmhouses. That’s when Sinha filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court seeking protection against demolition orders.
“The court said the demolition cannot take place until notices are served to the farmhouse owners and their response is taken into account,” said Sinha.
Weeks later, show cause notices were sent to the farmhouse owners by the Authority. In response, representations arguing that the Noida Authority was not “justified in initiating demolition” were submitted.
“But our representations went unanswered for a year and the protection against the demolition continued,” recalled Sinha. However, in 2023, Sinha received a response from the Authority saying the demolition would resume and that’s when Sinha filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court.
First, the Noida Authority has failed to demarcate how much area is
under flood plains. Second, since the land is agricultural farmland, the
structures can be constructed on 10 per cent land of the farmhouse and his clients’ structures are temporary, made of iron and steel rather than concrete. Third, and most important, the owners have registered their land and
paid the stamp duty to the Authority
— Ashwarya Sinha, advocate representing the farm house owners
Sinha said that his petition stood on three major legal concerns: first, the Authority has failed to demarcate how much area is under flood plains.
Second, since the land is agricultural farmland, the structures can be constructed on 10 per cent land of the farmhouse. He said clients’ structures are temporary, made of iron and steel rather than concrete.
Third, and most importantly, the owners have registered their land and paid the stamp duty to the Noida Authority.
“It is a registered sale deed. My clients have paid the registration charges to the Noida Authority. If it was a flood plain, why didn’t they object back then?” asked Sinha, claiming some of his clients had built the farmhouses over a decade ago.
“It didn’t happen in my tenure. Back then, the government and the officers were different and they gave clearances without thinking about the consequences and now, we are bearing the brunt of it,” said a top official who has been with the Authority for the last three years, on condition of anonymity.
Fifty-two-year-old petitioner and farmhouse owner Manoj Mittal, is armed with the clearances given by the Noida Authority in 2008. Mittal, who is a resident of Uttarakhand and runs hotels there, along with 49 other farmhouse owners has approached the NGT, asking compensation for the damage caused by the floods in 2023.
Verma has contested the claims by submitting a report to the NGT against the petitioners, saying that the “construction is illegal.”
“I have all the clearances from the Noida Authority and Irrigation department. And if our property is illegal, why haven’t the authorities been able to prove it in the court?” asked Mittal.
His questions echo the sentiments of other farmhouse owners highlighting the complexity of the problem facing the Noida administration.
The illegality of land on Yamuna floodplains is not limited to sale and purchase of land for building farmhouses. In 2017, a massive anti-encroachment drive was launched by the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration and Indian Air Force along the Noida expressway. The land was allocated to the Air Force for a bombing range in 1950. As per advocate Bhati, when the Air Force stopped using the land, the farmers started using it for agricultural activities and some were even sold off. These areas fall under the villages of Nangli Nangla and Nangli Sagarpur villages.
Roads are constructed by the brokers themselves. They even manage to get property registrations through dubious means. Everyone is aware of what’s going on, but as long as there’s no intervention to halt this rampant illegality, it will continue, said a resident of Nangli Wajidpur, a village located a kilometer away from the farmhouses
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Illegal roads and power connections
Imposing gates, solar panels on terraces and nearly half a dozen nurseries dot sector 135. Sign boards hanging from trees and electric poles inviting people to rent farmhouses is a common sight. The silence of the countryside is occasionally broken by the roar of luxury cars such as BMWs, Porsches, and Audis and beats of Punjabi music can be heard from a distance.
The roads leading to the farmhouses are wide, including the bylanes. Streetlights and solar panels are visible from a distance. It doesn’t appear to be an unauthorised colony that has stoked controversy and is deemed illegal by the administration. Instead, it appears as if a parallel civic governance exists here. And it’s the brokers who are running the show.
“Roads are constructed by the brokers themselves. They even manage to get property registrations through dubious means. Everyone is aware of what’s going on, but as long as there’s no intervention to halt this rampant illegality, it will continue,” said a resident of Nangli Wajidpur, a village located a kilometre away from the farmhouses, on condition of anonymity.
Like residents of any other regular locality, farmhouse owners too show up at the DM’s office to resolve their complaints.
But the DM has only one answer for them: “Your construction is illegal and I can’t help you with this.”
Verma, who got transferred about a year-and-a-half ago from Jaunpur to Gautam Buddha Nagar, said the administration does not provide electricity and water to the farmhouses.
But construction hasn’t stopped. When ThePrint visited sector 135, at least two farmhouses were under construction.
And owners don’t have to fully rely on the Authority or the middlemen for civic amenities. Money means they can dig up their own borewell for water supply and install solar panels to power their farmhouses.
Several cases of illegal electricity connections have been spotted by the district administration, said Vashishth. In the meeting of the Ganga committee on 14 June, electricity connections (provided by the Authority in the past) of all structures on the disputed land were directed to be snapped.
“There is a government order of 2021, which said that no electricity connection has to be given to any structure coming up on the floodplains of Yamuna. How these structures were able to secure connections is a matter of question,” said Vashishth.
Tongad said it’s a matter of dispute as to who constructed the roads – the cartel of property dealers or the Noida Authority.
“Several rounds of cross-questioning have taken place on the construction of roads to these farmhouses but there has been no concrete answer or evidence.”
According to a senior Authority official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the land mafia from Haryana has a hold on this area that they access through the canal behind the farmhouses in Noida Sector 135.
The official said that they have written to the Haryana administration and will soon be taking some action.
Verma said the matter has even come up before Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“CM Adityanath is against any construction that disturbs the environment. He has given us the powers to take necessary action.”
Be it planning a riverfront or surveying the region and demarcating the area as flood plains, the administration has not taken any action. Vashishth called it a “lapse” on part of the Authority.
“The core of the issue is that Noida Authority is allowing the irregularities to take place. How come farmhouse owners have the clearances, if not given by the Authority?” asked Vashishth.
When Vashishth raised this question in one of Ganga committee meetings, nobody took the blame. Instead, he was asked to forget as it was in the past.
The Noida Authority, meanwhile, is waiting for their Singham. A senior Authority official said the matter may be resolved when a “dabang” officer takes charge.
“The person willing to risk their job against the rich and powerful,” he said with a smile.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)