Where is the Sports Infra in 'Sports City'

Sports City Scam www.infralive.com 23 Infra LIVE July 15, 2022 institutional and other facilities viz 9-hole golf course, cricket acad- e m y , m u l t i p u r p o s e p l a y field/indoor hall, swimming cen- tre, tennis centre etc on the sports city plot (scan-A2 at pg 26). As per brochure (scan-C5 at pg 31) and lease deed (scan-A3 at pg 27), a minimum of 15 per cent of sports infra was to be completed by May 2014, and 100 per cent by May 2016 while commercial & residen- tial area completion could take 3 years more ie by May 2019. Also, even if the plot had been sub- divided and sub-leased, only the lessee was “wholly and solely responsible for the implementation of the project.” Noida Authority was also duty bound to ensure that the lessee makes all the “necessary arrangements of finances for devel- opment of sports city to the satis- faction of NoidaAuthority.” However, nothing has been done on sports infrastructure, while plenty of commercial complexes and residential towers have been lined-up across the sports city. Noida Authority also remained a mute spectator and did notmonitor the progress of sports infrastruc- ture though they were mandated to monitor the scheme to ensure the quality of sport infrastructure. Inept functioning of the Plan- ningWingofNoidaAuthority Moreover, in utter disregard to the provisions of the brochure & lease deeds restricting the sub- division of the Plot in areas avail- able for residential and commercial use only, the Planning wing of Noida Authority went further and approved the sub-divisions of the entire plot of land into 30 parts, thereby damaging the entire con- cept of integrated sports infrastruc- ture. Further, while approving the plans of allottees, the Planning wing did not ensure that 70 per cent of the plot area is used for construc- tion of recreation/ sports infra- structure which was a mandatory provision of the Sports City Scheme. Major objectives and salient features of the Sports City Scheme were fully ignored and bypassed by the Planning wing of the Noida Authority while approv- ing the layout plan of the Plot and sanctioning plan of individual sub- plots. Further, the Planning depart- ment of Noida Authority kept on sanctioning plans of the residen- tial/ commercial projects even when the promoters had not com- pleted the envisaged sports infra- structure within mandated period of five years and there were huge outstanding dues against the allottees/sub-allottees. They did not insist on obtaining a no dues certificate (NDC) from Finance wing and extension of the time period of the completion of the projects from Commercial/ Group Housing (GH) wing of the Noida Authority. Thus, there was no coor- dination between various wings of theNoidaAuthority. The infrastructure for sports was to be completed by May 2016 on 70 per cent of the total plot area. It is not clear whether Noida Authority has given any extension of the time limit to Logix group and other sub- allottees for completion of sports infra, and if yes, on what grounds the extensionhas been given. Changes in the definition of a “subsidiary company” in the Companies Act 2013weremis- used to defeat the purpose of terms and conditions of the Brochure The brochure provided that the lessee/ allottee could develop the project through its subsidiary com- panies in which the lessee/ allottee ought to have a minimum of 90 per cent equity shareholding. Logix group howeve r mi sused the changed definition of the subsid- iary company in the Companies Act 2013 and tried to keep the 90 per cent shareholding in the companies on paper only though the control of the company was already handed over to the third parties . Noida Authority appears to have not checked the latest shareholding and controlling powers of the sub- allottees at the time of sub-leasing the plots to them. In at least two land. A plot size of 65 acres means 263,046 sqm. This is the interna- tional standard. But Logix group has managed to divide a 224 acres Sports City plot into 30 pieces rang- ing from 5,189 sqm to 93,072 sqm. So, no single sub-plot is left which that much of area for a 9-hole golf course. What is being proposed on paper by this builder is a so-called 9-hole golf course passing through several so called-boundaryless sub-plots in the backyard of high-rise group housing societies and luxury villas. At best these proposed patches of lands are good for casual golfing or walking area for the local residents. Forget about hosting any interna- tional event, even local level tour- naments also cannot be hosted there. Moreover, all these group housing societies are likely to have restricted access, so, free access will not be available to ordinary golfers / people who are not residents of particular societies. Last priority for Sports Infra The main objective of the scheme was to create world class sports infrastructure in Noida in five years so as to hold marquee sports events like national and international/ Commonwealth/ Asiad Games at Noida. The Noida Authority took the assistance of Grant Thornton in formulation of the scheme for deciding the terms and conditions of the scheme. In lieu thereof, the allottee was provided plot at much cheaper rate than the market rate of the com- mercial plots prevalent at the time of allotment, and was also allowed to use unutilised portion of FAR (floor area ratio) and ground cover- age (GC) of the recreational land in the remaining 30 per cent residen- tial/ commercial areas without any restriction of heights (scan-A1 at pg 26). Further, annexure-2 of the bro- chure and the lease deeds executed by the Noida Authority with the allottees provided the details of expenditure of Rs 410 crores required to be incurred by the allottees for creation of sports,