The Hidden Polluters Threatening Noida's Elite Neighbourhoods

Home buyers in Noida's premium sectors are lured with glossy promises of Yamuna-facing apartments boasting unobstructed views of lush green floodplains, clean air, and serene nature, priced at Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per square foot in elite societies along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. But what was marketed as pristine greenery has been encroached by dozens of illegal Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) plants, batching units, and hot-mix facilities operating openly on the sensitive Yamuna floodplains.

These unauthorised sites run 24/7, kicking up choking dust clouds packed with deadly PM2.5 and PM10 particles, while heavy trucks and illegal diesel generators add relentless noise and toxic fumes.

Vast stretches now double as scrap yards piled with industrial waste and construction debris, destroying the ecology and turning "river views" into industrial eyesores.

"We paid crores for peace and clean air. Instead, we're living next to a pollution factory," says a Sector 135 resident, Rahul Mishra.

As dawn breaks over Noida's upscale sectors, smog blankets towering skyscrapers, while residents brave morning walks and children wait for school buses in haze-choked streets. But mere kilometers away, along the Yamuna Khadar stretch and entering Pushta Road, an invisible mafia operates in plain sight, with no permissions, no fear, and no end in sight?

Amid thick clouds of dust, over a dozen illegal Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) plants, batching units, and hot-mix facilities churn relentlessly along a 5-kilometer stretch from Sector 94 to 135. Heavy trucks rumble through, defying the strictest restrictions under the Commission for Air Quality Management's Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). These unauthorised operations hold zero permissions from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board.

Pushta Road, riddled with potholes and perpetual dust storms, stands in sharp contrast to the manicured cricket fields and gleaming luxury societies nearby. Powered by illegal diesel generators, these plants operate around the clock, spewing massive pollution directly into the lungs of residents in Noida's most elite areas.

Trucks hauling cement and materials - banned under GRAP Stage 4 - continue to ravage both health and infrastructure. 

The Pushta Road, meant to be an alternative to the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, involves a planned 30 km, 6-lane Yamuna Pushta Elevated Expressway running parallel along the Yamuna river - from near Kalindi Kunj (Sector 94) to Sector 150, connecting directly to the Yamuna Expressway and Jewar Airport, aiming to ease congestion by providing a bypass for Delhi-Jewar traffic.

 But the road is in a terrible shape and has turned into a hazardous dust bowl. The fine particles - PM2.5 and PM10- invade the bloodstream, impacting every organ from head to toe.

Locals dub it the "RMC mafia," thriving amid lax enforcement despite years of complaints and official assurances.

Resident Shrikumar Maheshwari told NDTV, "We've been complaining for months about these illegal plants. The dust is choking our families, the noise is unbearable, and the floodplains are being destroyed. Trucks roar through at all hours, making our roads impassable. How can this happen in premium areas? It's a complete failure of authorities - pure mafia control."

"Ideally, these RMC plants are supposed to be where the construction is happening and should follow dust mitigation protocol, but none of it is being followed, and rather new ones are being erected," he said.

Residents in these upscale sectors are bearing the brunt of this environmental negligence. Authorities, however, insist action is imminent.

Ritesh Kumar Tiwari, Regional Officer of the UP Pollution Control Board, said, "We are aware of these violations and have issued notices in the past. Strict action will be taken soon under GRAP and environmental laws. Our teams are monitoring, and we assure the public that these illegal plants will be shut down."

The board has not confirmed that approvals were ever granted. Yet, promises of crackdowns remain unfulfilled, turning the Yamuna floodplains into a burgeoning pollution hotspot that endangers lives and fragile ecosystems alike.