Noida Authority has decided to take back unused land allotted to DND Flyway from Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL), the concessionaire, after the Supreme Court in Dec last year ordered the road will remain toll-free. NTBCL has opposed the move, citing a 31-year contract signed in 1998 is still valid till 2029.
Noida had given 454 acres of land for DND, of which 330 acres lie unused. NTBCL built the 9.2km-long flyway connecting Noida to Delhi’s Maharani Bagh, the now-defunct toll plaza and its office on 124 acres of the allotted land.
Currently, large chunks of land are still vacant on both sides of the toll plaza, which the Authority plans to reclaim. Parks, cow shelters, green belts and a cricket ground have come up on this prime land along the Delhi-Noida connector.
Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M told TOI a survey was underway to assess how much land allotted to the NTBCL still lies unutilised.
‘The survey’s report is expected within a week. So far, no decision has been taken on the future use of the land or if the now-defunct toll plaza will be dismantled,’ he said.
In a letter to NTBCL, Noida Authority said: ‘Noida Authority has decided to constitute a team under the chairmanship of special executive officer (land records) to mark the remaining land, excluding the land used in construction, provided to NTBCL for the construction of the DND Flyway; and take possession of the subject Land, post marking.’
NTBCL has termed the move ‘unlawful’ and a violation of its concession agreement with Noida Authority. ‘We have issued a letter to Noida Authority and called for an immediate withdrawal of the office order and warned the (Noida) Authority of legal action if it proceeds with its plan to demarcate and take back possession of land leased to NTBCL under agreements dating back to 1998,’ the company said in a statement.
NTBCL argued that while certain provisions of the concession agreement were nullified, the agreement itself – and the associated land leases – remain valid.
The company cited multiple legal documents, including the 1997 Concession Agreement between Noida Authority, IL&FS and NTBCL that allowed it to develop and operate the DND Flyway, and the 1998 Noida Land Lease Deed and Delhi Land Lease Deed that granted it the right to hold and use the land for a period of 31 years, along with the concession agreement.
NTBCL contends the Authority’s latest directive ‘violates’ these agreements and is an attempt to bypass the ongoing Supreme Court review process.
