Part-2: Where is the Sports Infra in 'Sports City'

Part-2: Sports City Scam www.infralive.com 26 InfraLIVE November 15, 2022 issue. The Sports City plot No. SC-01 in sector 78/79 of Noida measures 703,002 square metres (174 acres) for which minimum reserve price was fixed at Rs 11,500 per sqm ie Rs 808 crore. In the 'brochure' based on the specified land area of 7.27 lakh sqm (+ 20 per cent), at the reserve price of Rs 11,500 per sqm, the estimated cost of the plot worked out to be Rs 837 crore. Out of 174 acres land, aminimumof 122 acres (70 per cent of land) were to be used for sports infrastructure including a 9-hole Golf Course for hosting marquee national / inter- national events like Asiad Games, Commonwealth Games etc. In May 2011, it was allotted to a consortium of nine members led by a newly incorporated Xanadu Estates Pvt Ltd of Three C group promoted by Vidur Bharadwaj, Surpreet Singh Suri and Nirmal Singh - at half the market rates. They too were ineligi- ble and an inexperienced consor- tium. They were required to complete the Sports Infra project by May 2016. But, even after passage of 11 and half years of allotment, and six years of the passage of deadline, no specified sports infrastructure has been established. Instead, several sprawling high rise residential projects have been taken up at the site. The Three C group divided the entire plot into 23 sub-plots and handed them over to different newly formed companies which on the face of it were shown to be its subsidiaries. But, on close scrutiny, we found that the control of most of them was passed on/ transferred, outside of Three C group, to third parties. This is yet anothermajor scam in which an inexperienced builder grabbed huge area of cheap land meant for development of sports infra, which was acquired from farmers for industrial development invoking urgency clause, but changed its usage and ownerships in circuitous manner causing huge loss to the state exchequer. The urgency clause enabled the Collec- n our July 15, 2022 issue I we d i d a s t o r y t i t l ed “Where is the Sports Infra in Sports City” covering Plot No. SC 01 of Sector 150 of Noida measuring 224 acres that was allocated by the Noida Authority in May 2011 to the little known and ineligible Logix group at lower rates. Instead of develop- ing 70 per cent of the land for sports infrastructure for organising inter- national sports events, the said plot was divided into 30 sub-plots and given to private companies for development of residential and commercial complexes, in gross violation of allotment conditions. Complete details were published in that issue of Infra Live and the common parts are not being repeated here for the convenience of our readers. In the same selec- tion process that began in March 2011 and opened for just 21 days - March 3, 2011 to March 24, 2011 - the Noida Authority had invited bids for Sports City in sectors 78 & 79 also. We are covering it in this A1 A2 B1