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Cameraperson: Abhishek Ranjan
Video Editor: Varun Sharma
In an exclusive interview to The Quint, a local builder who has invested in two real estate projects in Greater Noida’s Shahberi, has revealed that bribes were paid to the police and GNIDA officials even before the construction began in 2017.
Ramesh (name changed) also claimed that ‘rates were fixed on per square yard basis’ and almost all the builders who built housing complexes in Shahberi paid bribes depending on the total area of their property.
Ramesh had bought land in Shahberi in June 2017. A month later, he visited the office of the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) seeking approval for maps drawn out by his architect.
The GNIDA officials refused to admit his application saying that since Shahberi is a village area, such land doesn’t come under their purview.
But the same officials advised Ramesh to begin construction anyway thus, making it clear that they were not averse to ‘illegal’ construction activity in Shahberi.
Ramesh claims that rates were fixed and it was the constable from the local chowki who would initiate talks regarding the transaction.
Shahberi was suddenly in news when two buildings had collapsed in July 2018, killing nine people. The incident led to GNIDA announcing that more than 300 buildings in Shahberi were illegal as the maps were not approved by due process.
Contradicting claims by the residents who have been protesting against GNIDA since July, Ramesh told The Quint that the buyers were always aware about the ‘illegality’:
Even as several residents of Shahberi have approached the court seeking a restraint order against demolition by the GNIDA, as a builder, Ramesh still feels that there is a way forward:
There are no well-defined rules for construction activity by real estate agents in village areas and it’s this loophole that the babus and police have exploited to their advantage in Shahberi.
The Quint has sent a questionnaire to the UP police as well as GNIDA regarding allegations of corruption that paved way for construction in Shahberi. We will update the story as and when there is any response.
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