Accompanied by a large number of police and PAC personnel, the Authority sealed 11 properties in sector 19, including eight branches of public and private banks
“This is only the beginning,” said Captain S K Dwivedi, chief executive officer of Noida who was present during the sealing. “We will not stop until all unauthorized commercial activity is removed from the residential areas,” Dwivedi said. Another 13 bank branches in the same sector shut operations immediately and submitted affidavits to the authority pledging to shift out without delay. Several other units in the sector including a playschool, a guesthouse, a placement agency and an insurance firm, were sealed.
Additional CEO Anil Raj Kumar , one of the officials in the sealing team, said they had begun with sector 19 as the “court’s order had come following a petition on a bank in the same sector, which also has and it also has the largest number of banks operating from residential plots.”
While many other establishments downed their shutters voluntarily , several banks in sector 19 put up notices and sent out text messages to their customers informing them about shifting of operations, effective immediately.
“We thought we still had four weeks before shifting, this sealing was unexpected,” said the manager of Vijaya Bank. An officer of Punjab & Sind Bank said the bank had informed its customers about the closure. In all, 104 bank branches with a customer base of 1.5 lakh would have to stop operations. Several thousand locker holders have been left stranded as neighbourhood banking in the city is winding to a close.
“Banks offer public services and having them in close proximity to our residential areas was very convenient ,” said S M Saxena, a customer . “Why did the authority allow such commercial activity in residential areas in the first place?” he asked. Fearing action, other establishments in residential areas too shut shop. Also in the sealing ambit are about 50 nursing homes, 250 showrooms and thousands of other smaller establishments. The authority’s survey reports that almost 25% of all residential units have flouted land-use norms, “No one will be spared,” claimed an authority official.
“We are also taking action against commercial units running in industrial sectors.” ACEO Kumar said the sealing drive will continue on Thursday.
“Our drive will commence again from sector 19 and move to adjoining sectors. There will be no discrimination and all violators will be brought to book,” he said.
