Noida: Noida Authority had in 2022 rejected a revised layout submitted by Wiztown Planners for the flooded Sector 150 plot where a 27-year-old software engineer drowned on Saturday night, saying that the plan violated the integrated Sports City scheme and appeared more like a commercial complex than sports-led development.The 27,185sqm plot, SC-02/A3, is part of the Sports City project in Sector 150 — one of four such schemes conceived over a decade ago to create integrated districts anchored in sports infrastructure. According to the plan, sports and recreation are supposed to dominate 70% of land use, while residential and commercial components are allowed only in limited proportions to support sports facilities.While rejecting Wiztown’s revised layout, the Authority pointed out that only 5,136sqm of commercial floor area ratio (FAR) was permissible on the Sector 150 plot, but the revised plan proposed 26,189sqm for pro-shops and food-and-beverage (F&B) facilities, besides cinema screens.
Officials also noted that the approved Sports City layout already earmarked a separate, clearly defined commercial block for such activity.The problem, the Authority said, was not merely the quantum but the way the commercial element was being introduced. Wiztown’s revised plan did not keep the commercial block separate, instead mixing commercial activity with pro-shops and F&B uses across the same plot.“Commercial planning must be clearly segregated so that it does not overlap with facilities meant to support sports,” an official said.After examining the drawings, the Authority concluded the proposal “resembled a commercial complex” rather than sports infrastructure. It clarified that pro-shops and F&B outlets are intended as ancillary amenities — typically placed alongside individual sports facilities such as a golf course or tennis centre. Concentrating them at one location, the officials insisted, defeated the Sports City’s design.The decision also came against the backdrop of serious objections raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in 2019, which flagged issues across all four Sports City projects, including unauthorised sub-division of sports land.The Sector 150 project was allotted to a consortium led by Lotus Greens, while the SC-02/A3 plot was sub-leased to Wiztown in 2016 with the Authority’s approval. Officials said a building plan for the plot was approved in 2017, which prompted excavation for a basement that was later flooded with sewage water from nearby societies.Wiztown, which became part of the Sports City consortium, applied for a building plan approval in Feb 2020. The application was flagged for deficiencies, including the absence of a structural stability certificate, a fire department no-objection certificate and a no-dues certificate.When Wiztown submitted a modified plan in Jan 2021, approvals across Sports City projects tightened in the wake of the CAG audit.
In Jan 2021, officials said, the Authority’s board decided to halt approvals across all Sports City projects until sports facilities were developed on the ground. The freeze applied to the Sector 150 project as well.More recently, in proceedings related to Sports City developments, Supreme Court asked the Authority to approve a revised layout for the entire project, subject to conditions meant to restore the integrated sports character of the scheme and enforce timelines.
Officials said any plot-level approvals, including those sought by Wiztown, would have to align with the revised, court-compliant layout.Days after Yuvraj Mehta drowned, an FIR was registered against Wiztown and Lotus Greens, the lead developer. Lotus, however, sought to distance itself from the plot where the drowning occurred. Legal ownership, possession and operational control of the plot vest with Wiztown after the sub-lease in 2016, it said.
