Noida: The Supreme Court has on Wednesday upheld the Allahabad High Court order quashing the acquisition of over 156 hectares of land from farmers in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and allotting it to builders.

Upholding the Allahabad High Court order, the Supreme Court ordered Greater Noida Industrial Authority to hand over the land to villagers and farmers of the region. It has also imposed a fine of Rs. 10 lakh on the Greater Noida Authority for conspiracy with builders to acquire the land first for public purpose and then transfer it to builders.

It had earlier bought lands from farmers for industrial projects at the rate of Rs. 850 per square meter, but later changed the land usage to residential projects. However, the decision by Supreme Court might affect several builders including Amarpali, Supertech and Panchsheel in the district.

In view of this landmark verdict many builders such as Supertech, Amrapali, Panchsheel, Mahagun and many other will have to scrap their projects and hand over the land acquired by Greater Noida Authority to the farmers within the next three months.