Resume Sports City Development Project 

The Noida Authority has been requested by the UP assembly's public accounts committee to review a revised layout that the Sports City developer in Sector 150 submitted on a priority basis and to approve the plan if it satisfies all requirements. For the project, in which 10,000 homebuyers have invested, construction cannot start again until the revised report is approved. 

What Was the Project?

To build Sports City, Lotus Greens was given 330 acres in Sector 150 in 2014–15. In contrast to other projects, 70% of the available land had to be set aside for the construction of sports facilities, including academies for cricket, tennis, and golf. To make the project financially feasible, however, the remaining land could be set aside for residential and commercial use.Following its allocation, Lotus split the land into 24 sections and gave them to other businesses to use for the construction of housing developments. Following approval of their layouts by the Noida Authority, developers Tata, Samriddhi, Eldeco, Homekraft, and Godrej have already begun construction on their respective projects.

Why Was the Project Put on Hold?

But in 2021, the project as a whole ran into trouble when the CAG voiced its concerns, citing the fact that while residential buildings were being developed, sports facilities were being neglected. Additionally, it questioned Lotus's method of allocating and subsequently dividing land.

Following the Authority's decision to halt all project work, the assembly panel began investigating the errors that the CAG had pointed out. Furthermore, 63% of the land—rather than 70%—had been set aside for sports facilities, according to a recent Noida Authority inspection.

At least five high-level meetings on the subject have taken place since then. The committee requested in August of this year that construction be permitted to resume wherever there was enough land available. After that, Lotus unveiled its updated plan, claiming to have removed some plots designated for housing developments and made sure that 70% of the contiguous land in its possession would be used for sports facilities.

Why CAG Raised Objections to the Project?

1-Concerns regarding the previous design raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) prompted the Noida Authority to order a halt to all project-related construction in 2021.
2-One of the main issues brought up by CAG was the lack of 70% of contiguous land for the construction of sports facilities. During a meeting, the assembly panel was informed by Lokesh M., the CEO of the Noida Authority, that the developer, 3-Lotus Greens, had promised to make 70% of the continuous land tracts in its revised plan available. The committee members requested that the Noida Authority expedite the approval process if Lotus complies with all standards, but a representative of the CAG stated he wouldn't object if the report met international standards.