The Sports City project in Sector 79, Noida, has faced significant setbacks due to a failure to meet basic licensing requirements for developing sports infrastructure alongside housing projects. As a result, the project is now grappling with encroachments by small sports academies and vendors.

Residents have reported that local vendors have set up makeshift stalls and tin shades on vacant plots within the Sports City project. Additionally, unauthorised excavation and illegal soil sales have occurred on some of these vacant plots.

Despite complaints from residents, the Noida Authority has struggled to address the issue effectively. Ashok Vardhan, a resident of an unfinished Sports City project in Sector 79, expressed frustration, stating that the Authority has been unable to register flats or complete the Sports City projects, and encroachments continue unchecked.

While the Noida Authority had previously removed shanties from the project site in March, these encroachments have reappeared within a few months.

Sanwarjeet Singh, another resident, pointed out the emergence of an indoor academy on a vacant plot. He mentioned that the plot had been covered with tin sheets to establish a cricket academy, but this was just one instance of encroachment on project land. Squatters have occupied various vacant plots, as well as a 35-meter-wide greenbelt nearby, over the past five years.

In response to the situation, ACEO Satish Pal of Noida stated that the Authority would investigate the matter and take appropriate action.

The delayed Sports City project has left around 15,000 flat owners in nearly 15 projects within the sector awaiting the registration of their units. The Sports City project, initially aimed at providing top-notch sporting infrastructure alongside housing, has been plagued by challenges, including land allocation issues.

In April of this year, the Allahabad High Court sought a response from the Noida Authority regarding its decision to initiate action against developers for failing to complete Sports City on time, given that the entire land required for the project had not yet been allotted.