The Noida International Airport is set to open in November this year. With the development, a township near near the Jewar airport has been touted as the hottest property in the region, TOI's Aditya Dev reported.

Dealers' biggest marketing trap is that the airport is only half an hour away. It also becomes the easiest way to pitch the properties. This is only the first step towards getting scammed by an elaborate description by dealers and land sharks.

These people have been luring hundreds of property buyers ever since the construction of the airport commenced. They have ads on Instagram and YouTube and forwards on WhatsApp that promote property near the airport.

The report says multiple such networks operate, with all land theirs to sell. Salespersons contact buyers, arrange car pickups to the spot, which is almost 80 km from Noida, and take them to manicured 'show plots'.

Buyers are shown fake maps and are assured that the land is private and is beyond Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority's (YEIDA) notified area. They also ask a token amount to book a plot.

A scam

However, land here falls under the Khair tehsil of Aligarh district and is a part of 92 notified villages earmarked for development under Master Plan 2031, Phase 2.

The distance from Khair to Delhi is over 100 km. According to the report citing agents, residential property prices range from Rs 16,000 to Rs 18,000 per gaj ((square yard), while commercial property prices range from Rs 18,000 to Rs 24,000 per gaj.

According to TOI's ground report, the fraud begins after crossing the Jewar toll plaza and enter Khair tehsil.

A salesman, Aryan, greeted TOI. "The Noida airport is just 24km from here. Film City and other mega projects are also coming up. This is the right time to invest," he said, adding that a half-finished lane will soon connect to the expressway.

He says that plots start from 50 gaj (yards) and go up to 200 gaj, with larger sizes available on "custom request."

He said that the prices are negotiable once customers select a plot. He showed TOI documents allegedly belonging to Dheeraj Kumar and added that the buyer can build a boundary wall with 40 per cent payment. On the next 20%, possession and registry will follow. The remaining 40% can be cleared in instalments over a year, he said. There is no bank loan facility, but flexible "in-house finance" is offered.

Aryan dismissed reports about illegal colonies. "Our project is completely safe. You can check legality of the land on the govt's Bhulekh website. There are many projects where the same plot is sold to multiple buyers. We are not like that," he said.

The TOI team was also shown land documents on WhatsApp, claiming the land was cleared for non-agricultural purposes.

Just a few kilometres away, there's another township named Shri Hari Vatika in Dewaka. The brochure for which never reached TOI.

Instead, the brochure they showed claimed to deal in residential, industrial and institutional properties in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway area, but failed to mention any specific property.

There was also a claim that the property was in close proximity to the Taj International School, which is only a dilapidated building.

The land seems to be endless in these claimed townships. Developers say the project will cover 200 bighas, but its scope will increase as more farmland is cleared after harvest.

Any claims of proof for YEIDA's objection is rejected. YEIDA's jurisdiction spans six districts - GB Nagar, Bulandshahr, Hathras, Aligarh, Mathura and Agra.

Land prices in this region surged exponentially with projects like the airport, Film City, Logistic Park and Heritage City, It is now a prime area for land grabbing and unauthorised real estate activities.

What the YEIDA is doing

The menace is not alien to YEIDA. The authority has carried out over 25 anti-encroachment operations over the last three years. It has reclaimed land valued at nearly Rs 2,500 crore from illegal possession.

A senior YEIDA official stressed the need for public awareness. "People are lured by the dream of owning property near the airport. But they must remember, if it is not allotted or approved by YEIDA, it is illegal, no matter how real it looks on the ground. Don't fall for weekend site visits and free cab rides. Verify before you buy," he told TOI.

YEIDA CEO RK Singh said he wrote to the DGP to fill sanctioned police posts within the authority. "We will intensify our drive in the coming days, especially during weekends," he told TOI.

However, only two police officials have been posted out of the sanctioned 17.

Sensitive zones near Jewar, Vrindavan and Tappal remain under regular watch. Yet, the spread of fraudulent societies makes enforcement a daunting task.

In May, the authority reclaimed over 27 hectare of encroached land valued at more than Rs 400 crore in Aligarh's Simrauthi, Hetalpur and Tappal villages.

YEIDA has issued notices to over 300 developers areas including Tappal in Aligarh, Jewar and Jahangirpur in Gautam Budh Nagar and parts of Mathura.

The authority has also begun legal proceedings against those involved in unauthorised construction.

In Aligarh, FIRs were filed against 57 people for their roles in illegal projects.

A retired DSP-rank officer and ex-Army officer have been roped in to protect YEIDA-owned land from illegal colonisers and land mafias.

Aligarh authorities seized over 40,000 sqm of land valued at Rs 61 crore from three members of an organised land mafia based in Noida in July.

The land in Goraula village was allegedly acquired through forgery and deception by Ajit Kumar Raman, Shravan Kumar and Praveen Kumar Patel, TOI reported.

The trio is alleged to have conned farmers and investors by using fabricated documents and false promises of land appreciation. Every weekend, they stage sales events near Yamuna Expressway, luring buyers with lunch.

Aligarh police seized property worth Rs 33 crore last month. Police teams confiscated 15,200 sqm of land allegdly belonging to realtors Mohammad Sharib Tasneem and Saad Rahman.

The duo used to create a facade of legitimacy using fake maps and forged approvals. Along with associates, they floated a fake company, EMES Construction LLP, and siphoned off nearly Rs 1.5 crore from another firm, 21st Century Company, into accounts of relatives and associates. They illegally purchased and sold plots in Nagla Mewa village, Tappal, without YEIDA approval.