GREATER NOIDA: The double building collapse in Shahberi has brought to the fore how flats and houses mushroomed thick and fast, illegally, in the village located between two of NCR’s most well-known real estate addresses — Crossings Republik in Ghaziabad and Noida Extension.Beset by land acquisition problems, Shahberi’s fortunes didn’t turn even as its two neighbours burst into a rich realty harvest. What the village has become today is a legacy of flawed government policies.Shahberi was primarily an agricultural village that had been notified by the Greater Noida Authority in 2008.Land had initially been acquired under the urgency clause but it was then leased out to builders. The acquisition process was stalled following a Supreme Court order in 2011. No fresh acquisition took place after the court order, but the villagers who had been given compensation during the earlier process did not return the money and sold the land to whoever offered a bargain. Left unchecked by the authorities concerned, houses without licenced plans started coming up in Shahberi. There are scores of buildings in the village today that resemble the two that collapsed on Tuesday night.Sources said houses in at least five villages in the vicinity — Garhi, Behlolpur, Sarfabad, Shorkha and Gulabili — should immediately be checked for quality to avoid a repeat of the collapse on Tuesday. Many of the villagers said on condition of anonymity that the area was marshy and could not withstand the weight of tall buildings.Building bylaws laid down by the government make it mandatory for every plan to be approved by the respective Authority. But in Shahberi, no plan was ever approved despite the land being notified. “Once a piece of land is notified, approval of plans becomes mandatory,” said BN Singh, the district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar.Shahberi has at least 200 apartment buildings and many more are under construction. A visit to the village revealed that not only were plans not approved, but houses were being built with low-quality fly-ash bricks and pillars developing cracks even before any substantial construction takes place.“There is nobody to check these things. Unplanned construction is rampant and houses are coming up next to each other by over-stepping all safety norms. In fact, most buildings are over five storeys, which are not allowed in floodplains,” said Khursheed Ahmed, a resident who owns a two-storey house.Environmental activists also floated a concern. “Rules are being flouted at several levels. First, the water table in the area has dropped by 10 metres over last five years. There is no system to dispose of garbage and sewage is overflowing everywhere. Most of the builders have no licence. All existing apartments and the ones coming up are prone to accidents, and Tuesday’s was just an eye-opener,” said environmental activist and local resident Abhinav Khare.“The land here is not hard enough to withstand heavy construction. The plots are swampy, and water percolates to the ground in the absence of a proper sewage system. There is an urgent need to check the status of constructions here,” Ahmed said.Flats in Shaberi range between Rs 19 lakh and Rs 22 lakh each. Most of the apartments exceed five floors, violating the rule for constructions in swamps. Sources said the relatively low range of apartments in the area had been luring buyers over the past 6-7 years, coupled with unchecked illegal constructions.“In Shahberi, a developer promises a flat for Rs 19-22 lakh. The cost is way lower than that in the upscale society in the neighbourhood. A significant number of people from the lower middle class have invested in houses here,” said Sudhir Chaudhury, a local.SK Upadhaya, a Shahberi resident, said apart from the building plans not being approved, the quality of construction material used in the projects were sub-standard.“The apartments here are purely a commercial activity to make easy money. There is no strength in these buildings. The administration should take stringent measures to avoid any further damage,” he said.Sources said most people prefer the area as it connects to both Noida and Ghaziabad. Shahberi village is located between Crossing Republic in Ghaziabad and Noida Extension in Gautam Budh Nagar.

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