Allahabad HC lifts ban on registry of farm on Yamuna, Hindon floodplains
This order had put a complete ban on sale, purchase, and registry of agricultural land in Noida and Greater Noida since obtaining NOC from these authorities wasn’t easy
The Allahabad high court on Thursday set aside a 2020 order issued by the Gautam Budh Nagar district disaster management authority (DDMA), making it mandatory for landowners in the floodplain zones of the Hindon and Yamuna rivers to get a no objection certificate (NOC) from the Noida and Greater Noida authorities before executing the registry to transfer the land title to another person.
This order had put a complete ban on the sale, purchase, and registry of agricultural land in Noida and Greater Noida because obtaining NOC from these authorities was not easy. Later, the DDMA made it mandatory for owners to obtain NOC from industrial bodies after it realised that illegal constructions in the floodplains were rampant, and banning registries may discourage other properties from coming up, said officials.
“Considering the above provisions and authorities pronounced by the Supreme Court, we are of the view that the Disaster Management Act, 2005, does not give legal authority to the district magistrate to put restriction on the transfer of property in the subject area between River Hindon and River Yamuna floodplain zones. It will be arbitrary and discriminatory to place restrictions on sale and purchase of agricultural land of farmers,” said a bench of justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and justice Prashant Kumar, while disposing of multiple writs filed against the ban on sale or purchase of agricultural land.
The Noida authority argued that restrictions imposed were reasonable and necessary to prevent unauthorised construction in the floodplain zone, which could lead to significant natural calamities. They contended that the requirement of an NOC was a precautionary measure to ensure that no illegal construction took place, which could cause environmental hazards.
But the bench said the Noida authority has got no authority to issue such NOCs.
“It is an undisputed fact that no illegal construction could have come up in floodplain zone, until and unless the same is carried out with connivance of officers of the authority. It is surprising to see that the authorities had not taken any action against the officers, who had allowed such kind of construction to come up in floodplain zone but they are keen to create impediments and hurdles for farmers, who want to sell the agricultural land. We fail to understand as to how in the presence of the authority and its officers, such illegal constructions in floodplain zone has been coming up,” the bench said.
The bench compared the situation to “asking a fox to guard the henhouse,” and said the very authority responsible for the rampant growth of illegal construction in these floodplain zones was being tasked with regulating land registries.
The court said that every citizen has the right to acquire, sell, and dispose of property. It also said that any restrictions imposed by the authority on a person’s ability to manage their property would constitute a violation of Article 300A of the Constitution.
The main petitioners include Suresh Chand and others, who are the owners of agricultural land in different revenue villages of Gautam Budh Nagar. The writ petitions were clubbed together because they involved similar issues.
The court deemed the requirement of an NOC as arbitrary and discriminatory, as it placed an undue burden on the landowners without proper legal backing.
The court held that the restrictions imposed were not reasonable and therefore, could not be sustained. The authorities were directed to stop enforcing these restrictions immediately.
Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said, “We will take appropriate decisions as per the law.”