Noida Fails To Build For The Poor Amid Mushrooming Slums

On a day when the apex court blasted the Delhi government over its failure to submit a plan to combat encroachments, the Noida Authority on March 26 made public its intent to allot homes to slum dwellers through a luck draw with an aim to free prime government land in the region. On March 28, the Noida Authority will hold a lucky draw to allot units to 99 applicants.

Official data show as many as three lakh people belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS) category live in illegal constructions in Noida. Also, 11,565 slum dwellers live in Noida across sectors 4,5,8,9 and 10. Despite repeated attempts that started in 2000 along with the mushrooming of slums in the national capital region’s information technology hub, the Noida Authority has not been able to free prime land parcels. In the meantime, it has built 8,722 units in total, meant for factory workers (4,952 units), economically weaker sections (2,760 units) and the low-income group (1,010 units). All of these units are lying vacant while the number of shanties across the city is increasingly swelling.

The other two development bodies in the region — the Greater Noida Authority and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) — are not seen doing any better to stop illegal encroachment. According to media reports, the Greater Noida Authority has failed to allot 20-25 percent of land in each planned sector for housing meant for the underprivileged. In 2012, the National Capital Regional Planning Board (NCRPB) had directed the authority to make changes in its master plan of 2021, and increase the portion it must set aside in each planned sector for the EWS and LIG category from the earlier five per cent to 20-25 per cent. Another directive by the NCRPB followed in 2014 also fell on deaf ears. Official data show the authority has constructed only 10,000 units for the weaker sections since its inception in 1992. Only half of these units are occupied so far. According to highly placed officials in the authority, affordability has been the key concern why half the units lie unsold.

The Yeida, on the other hand, has reportedly built 5,000 homes for the EWS category, clearly defying the set rules. “We do not plan to allot more flats for the LIG people as there are no takers for such flats. If there is no demand, why should we build such flats,” Yeida Chief Executive Officer, Arun Vir Singh was quoted in a Hindustan Times report as saying.