Noida Authority is getting richer. With prime land in Noida being transferred to the New Okhla Development Authority by the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, the authority has become richer by 20 acres.

The land in question lies between village Naya Bans DND toll and Pusta road, less than a km away from the Delhi-Noida border. The land is part of the flood plain, barely 700 metres away from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, a notified protected area close to the Yamuna at the Okhla barrage.

The authority officials have decided at a board meeting that the newly-acquired land should be used for development. The authority’s chief executive officer, Mohinder Singh, has said that the land will be open to mixed land use. Officials have also put up a public notice asking for objections if any.

“The legal notice put up on the website of the Noida Authority has invited suggestions and objections from public, if any, regarding the authority’s decision of changing the land use of the 20-acre floodplain on the border of Noida and Delhi,” said a senior official of the authority.

According to officials, the land for which the authority has approved mixed land use, can be sold to developers for the construction of residential plots, commercial hubs, institutional land or residential-cum- commercial land.

“We are keeping it open for developers or have to see if we can develop something for public development,” said the additional CEO, R P Arora.

There are, however, a few residents of Noida who have objections on the development of the floodplain. “Any construction in this area would critically and irrevocably affect and destroy the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, which is home to various species of birds, a large number of them being migratory. We have circulated mails to residents of Noida asking them to sign up against the commercial use of the floodplain,” said Lokesh Batra, a social activist.

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