SC upholds acquisition of land in Noida Extn.; developers hail verdict

In a huge relief to developers and flat-owners, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld land acquisitions in Noida Extension by the Greater Noida Authority between 2006 and 2009. The court overturned the Allahabad High Court order which had scrapped acquisitions.

A media report quoted a lawyer as saying, “The Supreme Court dismissed all petitions on land acquisition. Farmers wanted some more compensation but that has not been accepted by the Supreme Court. This verdict will impact 65 villages of Noida and Greater Noida.”

Welcoming the apex court verdict, RK Arora, Chairman of Supertech, said the order has given respite to thousands of flat-owners and the developers as well.  Arora said, “There was a cloud of uncertainty looming over the real estate sector for the last couple of years due to multiple litigations over land acquisition in Greater Noida pending in various courts, all of which has reached finality with today’s order.” He added, “This is a very positive development capable of restoring confidence of investors and a favorable sentiment in real estate sector.”

According To Deepak Kapoor, President, Credai Western UP, the judgment means that the fears of many buyer/investors have been laid to rest. “The land acquisition issue which was haunting the Greater Noida West is now finally settled,” Kapoor told Realty & More. He added that “buyers and the developers operating in Greater Noida West can now work towards their dreams of developing the projects and handing it over to the buyers.”

In Gaursons India MD Manoj Gaur’s view, the SC order is “in favour of everyone, including buyers, investors, developers and farmers.” Gaur said, “The court has kept intact the order for increased compensation and the promise of developed area as it is. With this order the doubts in the minds of buyers/investors have come to an end. Now the area can witness fast-paced development and soon we will see the shape of area that is promised to be haven for affordable housing”.

Agreeing with him, Anil Kumar Sharma, CMD of Amrapali Group, said, “The decision has taken care of all stakeholders such as farmers, middle-class homebuyers and the financial institutions.” He said, “All uncertainties have cleared now and projects would move faster as financial institutions will not hesitate to fund the projects for clear title land.”