Noida Authority plans to take back 13 acres of land from Unitech Group in Sector 144

The Noida Authority plans to take back 13 acres of land from Unitech Group in Sector 144. Unitech was given this land in 2011 to build residential projects, but they have yet to start any work on it. The Authority decided to reclaim this land in their last meeting. They need to get approval from the Supreme Court before they can officially take it back.

Unitech was given a large land parcel in Sector 144 in March 2011 and started using it in 2015. They then divided this land and sub-leased part of it to the Gulshan Group, who built two housing projects there. However, the remaining 13 acres have been empty since then. Unitech owes a lot of money—Rs 392.8 crore—as of April 2024 because they were supposed to finish the projects by July 2022, but they didn't.

The reason for the delay is a Supreme Court case from 2016 about Unitech's unfinished projects and the arrest of the company's former leaders. In 2019, the Supreme Court removed Unitech's management and put a government-approved team in charge of completing their projects. The new management took over in 2020.

The 13 acres of land are not part of the Supreme Court's April 2024 order, which focused on projects where homebuyers had already bought flats. Around 5,500 people are still waiting for their flats and villas in other Unitech projects. 

The Supreme Court will decide later on the Noida Authority's move to reclaim the land. Unitech had suggested building new towers and houses on the vacant land to raise money and finish their unfinished projects, but the Authority disagreed with this plan.