Greater Noida plot scheme fraud: GNIDA sold land to buyers it didn't even own; 3 arrested

GNIDA

The Uttar Pradesh government has suspended three senior officials from the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) for their alleged role in a faulty residential plot scheme, The Times of India reported.

The three, General Manager R K Dev, Manager K M Chaudhary, and Senior Draftsman Suresh Kumar (now an assistant manager), had allotted land to buyers that had not been legally acquired by the Authority. The Allahabad High Court later criticised the process, calling it "arbitrary and reckless".

The suspension follows a High Court order holding GNIDA responsible for irregularities in a 2023 residential plot scheme in Patwari village. According to records, GNIDA had started acquiring 9,600 square meters of land in 2008 but managed to legally acquire only 1,600 square meters. However, in 2023, GNIDA issued allotment letters to five buyers for the full 9,600 square meters, including land that had not been legally acquired from farmers.

As a result, buyers who paid for the plots were unable to take possession of their land. Two of these buyers approached the High Court, stating that they had made full payments but later learned that 80 per cent of their plots were not legally owned by GNIDA. Despite several follow-ups, GNIDA failed to give them possession or offer alternative plots, according to the TOI report.

In its Jan 23 order, a division bench of Justices Manoj Kumar Gupta and Anish Kumar Gupta criticised GNIDA's conduct and described the allotments as "misrepresentation and deceit". The court also sought to know how a large-scale scheme could proceed without verifying legal titles or physical possession of the land.

GNIDA told the court that it did not have alternative land to offer and suggested refunding the buyers with 4 per cent interest. However, the court rejected this solution, calling it unclear and unfair. The bench asked the GNIDA CEO to submit a full explanation and to identify the officials responsible.

GNIDA CEO Ravi Kumar NG submitted an affidavit naming the officials involved. Internal inquiry suggested that 11 GNIDA officials were responsible for the mismanagement. But the three suspended officials were identified as directly culpable in designing and approving the scheme.

State Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi said more action would follow if other officials were found guilty. "The three officials were found prima facie guilty of not discharging their duties with full devotion, demonstrating negligence in their work, and tarnishing the image of the Greater Noida Authority and govt," TOI quoted him as saying.

GNIDA has now offered alternative plots to affected buyers who agree to return their previous allotments.