The Uttar Pradesh government has approved a revised development plan for the long-pending Sun City township project in Ghaziabad, offering hope to nearly 2,000 homebuyers affected by a two-decade delay, as published by The Economic Tiimes.
First announced in 2005 under the state’s hi-tech township policy, the Sun City project was originally proposed across 4,312 acres to address housing demands in the expanding city. However, the plan stalled amid protracted land acquisition issues, alleged violations of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), and outstanding dues totaling ₹172 crore.
Farmer protests demanding higher compensation repeatedly disrupted the land acquisition process. Over 18 years, the developer managed to acquire only 828 acres out of the total required. In 2023, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) rejected a draft proposal to develop the township on the available 828 acres, citing the developer’s failure to pay land use conversion charges. The charges had also been flagged in a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which criticized a previous waiver on these fees as a significant loss to the state exchequer.
The initial plan called for acquiring land from 22 villages where land use was classified as agricultural. The CAG report underscored that when the hi-tech policy was launched, the GDA waived the conversion charges, resulting in financial shortfalls for the state.
In an effort to revive the stalled project, a high-powered committee led by the state’s chief secretary conditionally approved the development in 2023 on a reconfigured 2,420 acres — comprising the 828 acres already acquired and additional land pooled from 22 gram sabhas. The committee instructed the developer to submit a fresh detailed project report (DPR) and directed GDA to evaluate it.
Earlier this week, the high-powered panel cleared the revised DPR and recommended it for final approval by the GDA board.
“The revised DPR submitted to the committee proposes the township across 2,420 acres, combining the developer’s existing holdings with land integrated from 22 gram sabhas,” a senior GDA official said. “The committee considered the prolonged delay and the interests of approximately 2,000 buyers who have been waiting since 2009.”
The official added that the GDA board is expected to take up the revised DPR for approval in its next meeting.
Despite repeated attempts, the developer or its representatives could not be reached for comment.
The project’s clearance could mark a turning point in resolving one of Ghaziabad’s most prolonged real estate stalemates and provide long-awaited relief to affected homebuyers.