Police have registered a case against 28 residents of Nagla Hukam Singh village for allegedly carrying out illegal construction on land notified for the second phase of the Noida International Airport (Jewar) expansion. The action follows a complaint filed by the local lekhpal, who alleged that the constructions were being undertaken to gain undue benefits from the land acquisition and rehabilitation policy.

According to the complaint, around 1,182 hectares of land in the villages of Dayantpur, Ranhera, Kurem, Karauli Bangar, Virampur and Mudhreh were notified in 2022 for the airport’s expansion. The notification clearly prohibits the sale, purchase or construction of any structure on the notified land without prior permission from the District Magistrate until the acquisition process is completed.

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Officials stated that farmers have already received compensation for the acquired land, which is now registered in the name of the Civil Aviation Department. Despite this, villagers of Nagla Hukam Singh allegedly began carrying out fresh construction on the acquired land with the intention of securing additional compensation, causing financial loss to the state government. The lekhpal alleged that repeated notices and warnings to stop the construction were ignored.

Police said the illegal constructions not only violated government orders but also posed serious safety risks. The issue gained prominence after a four-storey illegal building under construction collapsed in Nagla Hukam Singh village on 19 November, killing four workers. During the incident, 12 workers were trapped under debris while shuttering work was underway. Six workers were rescued and rushed to the hospital, where four, Zeeshan, Kamil, Shakir and Nadeem, all residents of Jewar, succumbed to their injuries.

Following the lekhpal’s complaint, police registered an FIR against 28 villagers, including Brijesh, Narendra, Harendra, Dhirendra, Naresh, Ankit, Sachin, Pushpendra, Amar, Avdhesh, Veerbahadur, Ankur, Deepak, Sundar, Vinod, Monu, Manish, Rasfool, Harveer, Dhruv, Sudhir, Parveen and Samayveer, all residents of Nagla Hukam Singh, Majra Karauli.

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In a separate case related to the building collapse, police had earlier registered an FIR at Rabupura Kotwali against the building owner Mahavir, his wife and son Gaurav. Investigations are ongoing, and authorities have warned of strict action against anyone involved in illegal construction on airport land.