Day-to-day hearing of Noida land cases starts Sept 12

A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, especially constituted to hear land acquisition cases pertaining to Noida and Greater Noida, on Monday said it will hear the matter on a day-to-day basis from September 12, the next date of hearing.

The court has asked the state government to file its counter-affidavit with respect to the petitions in the meantime. The court also said that cases pertaining to acquisition of land by the Yamuna Expressway Development Authority will be taken up separately. Residents of three villages, including Jaganpur and Afzalpur, had approached the court in this regard.

The HC did not allow the plea of private builders to be made party in the matter. But they have the option of bringing their views before the court by becoming interveners.

As the bench comprising Justices S U Khan, Ashok Bhushan and V K Shukla took up the matter, it emerged that the state had not yet filed its counter-affidavits with respect to the petition dealing with Patwari village. The court then asked the state to file its counter-affidavit with respect to all petitions.

The Greater Noida Authority has already filed its counter-affidavit in connection with Patwari village. In all, 491 petitions have been clubbed with the main petition of Gajraj Singh vs The State of UP, which is the lead case dealing with acquisition of 589 hectares of land in Patwari village.

“The court will hear these cases on a day-to-day basis after September 12. It will first hear the Patwari village case and then other villages and petitions will follow,” said Pankaj Dubey, counsel for petitioners from Patwari.

A large number of petitioners have approached the court after a division bench ordered all petitions pertaining to land acquisition in Noida and Greater Noida be clubbed together.