YEIDA razes illegal colony, clears 400cr land near Noida int’l airport

Noida: The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) on Monday removed encroachments, reclaiming 25 acres of land, worth Rs 400 crore, from encroachers who had developed unauthorised housing projects near the upcoming airport.Teams demolished an unauthorised colony branded as "Green City", spread over about 12 acres in Dayanatpur village. Similar action was taken on an adjoining parcel of around 7 acres, where illegal plotting was underway. A 60-metre-wide road leading to the airport was also cleared.In a parallel operation, encroachments over nearly 6 acres were cleared in Sabota Mustafabad village. Additional CEO Rajesh Kumar and OSD Shailendra Singh, along with police and revenue officials, were present during the drive. Officials said FIRs will be lodged against illegal colonisers and builders operating within the notified area.The action is part of wider enforcement by YEIDA against so-called "airport township" rackets around Jewar and adjoining districts as the Noida International Airport project advances.On Oct 15 last year, YEIDA freed nearly 300 acres worth Rs 1,200 crore in Aligarh, demolishing unauthorised colonies such as The Grand Coloniser and Vrindavan Colony across Tappal, Hamidpur and Syarol. On Sept 16, the Authority reclaimed 155 acres worth about Rs 2,500 crore in Bulandshahr, demolishing Aeronest Coloniser, Shri Radha Gauri Enclave and Rudra Properties. Following directions from the CEO, field officers were instructed to conduct raids, file FIRs were filed against illegal developers, and submit action-taken reports. In the past 3 years, YEIDA carried out over 25 major drives, reclaiming land worth around Rs 6,500 crore.The airport announcement sparked a land rush. A land mafia quickly began illegally converting cheap agricultural parcels into unauthorised plots without land-use change or approvals, erecting temporary boundary walls and signboards to mimic legality into fake residential plots, marketing them as "airport townships" to city buyers.