Noida: A nearly 1km green belt along Vishwakarma Road in sectors 78 and 79 has been overrun by jhuggis, scrap yards, heaps of garbage, and a row of unauthorised shops selling pork, meat, fish and liquor.Residents of Mahagun Mezzaria, Sunshine Helios, Antriksh Golf View 2 and Sikka Kimaantra — high-rise societies overlooking the encroached stretch — say the settlement has grown steadily over the past decade. The encroachment, particularly dense at both ends of the green belt with easy access from Vishwakarma Road, has spread layer by layer across land originally earmarked as a pollution buffer between the residential complexes and the road.Every day, trucks unload fresh garbage at the site, where many of the settlers, engaged in the scrap trade, sort and segregate the waste. While the garbage strewn across the green belt is an eyesore, residents say the regular burning of scrap poses the bigger problem.“The acrid smell of melting plastic, usually burnt in the early morning hours, makes the air heavy and commuting along Vishwakarma Road or the service lanes difficult,” said Aniruddha Dhar, a resident of Aditya Urban Casa in Sector 78.According to residents, the settlers burn plastic, wires and other scrap to extract metal for resale. “The smoke rises and drifts into our apartments. It is worsening the already high PM2.5 levels in the area,” Dhar said.Cattle let loose by settlers often wander onto the road, blocking traffic on an already congested stretch. “There have been so many instances when bikers and autorickshaw drivers had near misses while trying to swerve and avoid hitting a cow on the road below Sector 76 metro station,” said Ashish, an autorickshaw driver in the area.The encroachment does not stop at the green belt. On the road leading towards Sector 101 metro station, unauthorised shops have taken root. Among them are three wine shops operating within a two-kilometre stretch, with an illegal country booze shop running just outside Antriksh Golf View 1. Street vendors have also set up shop around nearby Ved Van in Sector 78, an area designated as a no-vending zone.
An unauthorised settlement near the Sector 76 metro station
“Cattle, food carts and other encroachments occupy footpaths along the green belt and towards Sector 79 stretch, rendering them unusable and effectively pushing pedestrians onto the road. At least a dozen group housing societies are affected by this mess,” said Rahoul Moondra of Mahagun Mezzaria.The people living in the settlement tell a different story, or at least a more complicated one.Anil Balmiki, a scrap collector who has lived in the slum sprawl for a decade, said he moved there after brief periods in Salarpur, Barola and Bhangel villages. A native of Bareilly, he lives there with his family. “We work in scrap collection and live in jhuggis. Local groups often threaten us, breaking down our jhuggis, forcing us to live in fear,” he said.His wife, Geeta Devi, was more direct about what survival looked like from the other side of the highrise windows. “We live without toilet facilities, proper water and electricity connections and endure the harsh weather conditions. We just want to survive.” She acknowledged the land belongs to the govt but said no one had ever asked them to leave. “Jab sarkar kahengi toh ham cheley jaynegey (when the govt asks us to move, we will go),” she said. “Till then, we are biding our days here.”Munni Devi, a 60-year-old domestic worker from Badaun who has lived in the settlement for nearly a decade, said she did not know that she was occupying govt land. “We came looking for work, saw the vacant land and settled here. Many of us have worked as construction labourers and helped build the nearby highises ,” she said.Another settler pointed out how heaps of garbage and mud had been piled on the two sides of an open drain that runs along the green belt. “During rains, the garbage releases a putrid smell, making life miserable for us,” he said.Noida Authority has not been unaware of the problem. A resident of Mahagun Mezzaria has written to Authority CEO recently, flagging what he described as the indifferent approach of officials of Work Circle 6, the jurisdiction under which the area falls.Indu Prakash, officer on special duty (OSD) at Noida Authority, acknowledged that the encroachments had existed for nearly a decade and that repeated anti-encroachment plans had been hampered by a lack of resources.“We have tried to carry out the anti-encroachment drive in the area earlier, but each time, the unavailability of adequate police force has shelved the process. The entire process will require a massive police deployment and coordination with other administrative departments. Yet again, we have sent another notice to the police department for carrying out the drive and are awaiting a response,” he said.A senior police officer said they provided Noida Authority personnel whenever it requested assistance for anti-encroachment drives. “Every time the Authority has sought police deployment, we have provided adequate personnel. We maintain records of every deployment, which show that all requests for force have been met. At the same time, before any anti-encroachment drive, we also have to assess the law and order situation in the area to ensure adequate security arrangements,” the officer said.
Many who live here work as domestic help in nearby homes or as scrap dealers
