With senior IAS officer Prabhat Kumar taking the reins of Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities, development activities are likely to speed up as the officer with a clean image considers his "top priority to recover the
dues from developers who collectively owe both the authorities more than Rs 10,000 crore and to sort out issues being faced by hundreds of homebuyers".
"We will ensure the implementation of law keeping in mind equity, justice and good consciousness. Our objective is not to hassle anybody but to establish ourselves" said Kumar.
The chairman also sought to resolve the issues between the builders and the homebuyers. Many homebuyers in Greater Noida have been harassed and cheated by the realtors for several years.
"Considering my top priority to protect the interest of home buyers and recover the dues, I will not hesitate in initiating action against developers indulging in cheating. Besides, anyone involved in corrupt practices would be taken to task. " said Kumar.
"We have already started to form a committee to probe into the matter. The committee will submit the report within a week. We will decide the measures to be opted, after that. Even if we have to file criminal complaints, we will do so and ensure that penal action is taken. Because of the outstanding dues, a lot of important work has been stalled and adversely affected. If we cannot recover the money, it will be difficult for the development authorities to function," added Kumar.
Kumar had served as the deputy Chief Executive Officer of Noida Authority from January 1996 to April 1997, under PK Mishra, the then CEO.
During his tenure, he had unearthed corruption cases against several officials, including then Chief Engineer who was suspended on the basis of his probe report.
Kumar played a crucial role in sending former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Neera Yadav to jail.
Yadav was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment on November 20, 2012, in connection with irregular allotment of plots in Noida.