How a lone farmer halted Unitech's construction in Noida project
Unitech's Express City housing project, claiming ownership of a 7,000 square meter plot. Sukhpal Singh asserts the land, located within the project's sectors 96, 97, and 98, belongs to him and was never acquired by the Noida Authority. The project, delayed for nearly a decade due to Unitech's financial and operational issues, resumed construction last September under new management appointed by the Supreme Court.
The disputed plot falls within Unitech’s “The Willows” project, which includes developed plots and requires infrastructure like roads. Singh states he notified officials about his plot's location within the project boundary. The district administration demarcated his plot within the project area around 2016-2017. Construction work stalled, leaving his plot undisturbed. Singh noticed excavation for a road on Thursday and halted the work, informing the district administration.
“My demand is that either an approach (road to my plot) is provided, or my land parcel is shifted to another portion of the project along the existing road where Unitech has no issue. Since the allotment, we were not able to do farming on this land. But, at the same time, Unitech also did not interfere,” Singh said.
Unitech's court-appointed chairman, YS Malik, maintains the land is part of their lease agreement and possession was handed over to them. Malik stated having notified the Noida Authority about the land issue since 2021. “The land is part of the lease deed, and possession was handed over to us. We have been raising the
