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20 years gone, Madhuban Bapudham plot allottees told to shell out lakhs
Ghaziabad: GDA has started sending notices to around 1,500 plot allottees in Madhuban Bapudham, asking them to pay additional charges following a court-mandated hike in land compensation to farmers.
Affected buyers now face an average additional cost of Rs 5,175 per sqm, that is Rs 5.17 lakh for a 100 sqm plot and Rs 15.5 lakh for larger plots up to 300 sqm. The plots were earlier sold to them at Rs 11,800 per sqm.
"In case an allottee is not able to pay the additional fee, they will have to surrender the plot, and the initial amount paid will be refunded by GDA. Those who wish to retain plots will be given the option to deposit the additional amount in four instalments," a GDA official told TOI.
Residents have expressed anger over the sudden burden, but the GDA said it was implementing the directive as ordered by the court and has no discretion in the matter. "This is an additional burden on allottees. Many of us have retired and have limited income sources, so managing the amount will be tough," Leeladhar, who bought land in the township. A residential plot scheme rolled out in 2004 near Delhi Meerut Road, Madhuban Bapudham spans over 1,231 hectares and has 2,570 plots under different categories: 254 MLA plots, 762 developed plots earmarked for farmers whose land was acquired, and 1,554 plots for other buyers who will now have to pay the additional fee.
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over land belonging to five villages of Sadarpur, Mainapur, Naglapath, Yaqoobpur, and Morta.
In 2004, a group of farmers who had parted with their land (281 acres) in Sadarpur, Mainapur, Naglapath, Yaqoobpur and Morta villages challenged the Authority's land acquisition rates—farmers were offered between Rs 32 per sqm and Rs 123 per sqm for parting with their lands, but the developed plots were sold at Rs 11,800 per sqm.
Currently, the per unit cost of flats under group housing societies in Madhuban Bapudham scheme varies between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 65 lakh.
After they failed to get relief from the high court in 2008, the farmers moved the Supreme Court, which in Nov 2016 directed that revised compensation be paid as per the provisions of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013.
"GDA was forced to revisit land rates of plots after a group of farmers moved court demanding higher land compensation. To pay the enhanced compensation to the farmers, the GDA needed Rs 1,100 crore. So, it took a loan of Rs 800 crore. The Authority now intends to recover the remaining amount from plot buyers by loading the extra cost on them with retrospective effect," the official said.
