Noida Authority slaps Rs 235-crore payment notice on DLF in Mall of India land case

According to Noida Authority officials, the notice was served to the developer on December 23.

The Noida Authority has issued a notice to real estate developer DLF for the payment of Rs 235 crore within 15 days in connection with a land compensation case related to Mall of India, according to sources.

The development follows a May 5 Supreme Court verdict, directing the Noida Authority to pay land compensation to the land’s previous owner Veerana Reddy. DLF, however, denied receipt of any notice from the Noida Authority in connection with the payment of Rs 235 crore.

According to Noida Authority officials, the notice was served to the developer on December 23.

“We have issued a notice on December 23 to DLF for payment of Rs 235 crore to the Authority in connection with the dispute related to land to Mall of India. The developer will have to pay the desired amount within 15 days else appropriate legal actions will be taken,” a Noida Authority source told Moneycontrol.

DLF Spokesperson denied the development regarding receiving any notice from the Authority in this connection.

“We have not received the notice yet. Once we get it, we will review it,” a DLF Spokesperson said.

According to Noida Authority sources, the total amount payable to Reddy was around Rs 295 crore.

Sources said that the Noida Authority has already made the payment and Rs 235 crore will be recovered from the DLF.

The Mall of India is touted as the biggest mall in the country.

The Noida Authority had acquired a 7,400 square metre land parcel, on which the Mall of India stands in sector 18, from the land owner Veerana Reddy in 2005 and had later auctioned it to DLF. Reddy later objected it to the acquisition process and claimed that the compensation was “unfair” and the matter went to court.

In January 2011, the then Gautam Budh Nagar administration decided on the compensation of Rs 18,00,481 along with interest at a rate of Rs 181.87 per square metre. This deal was refused by Reddy.

The legal battle between the Noida Authority and Reddy escalated to the Supreme Court via Gautam Budh Nagar lower court and Allahabad High Court.

The Supreme Court on May 5, 2022, had directed the Noida Authority to pay a land compensation to the land’s previous owner Veerana Reddy at the rate of Rs 1,10,000 per square metre along with an interest of 15 percent and penal interest of 3 percent.

The land compensation amount, as ordered by the Supreme Court, was calculated to be around Rs 295 crore which was to be paid to Veerana Reddy.