Uttar Pradesh terminated senior PCS officer Harish Chandra, a 1997-batch officer, over corruption charges tied to his tenure as Noida Authority secretary in 2011-12. He was accused of arranging the leaseback of around 3.81 lakh square metres in Shahdara village, near Sectors 140A, 141, 142 and 143, in violation of rules. The alleged scam was valued at Rs 4,000 crore; investigators estimated the land’s market value at around Rs 3,800 crore.

Leaseback was limited to eligible villagers, with a maximum of 450 square metres per family. The inquiry alleged larger plots were leased to outsiders and private companies, and found violations in the land survey and leaseback process. Disciplinary action began in September 2013, and a chargesheet was filed in 2014. Chandra’s IAS promotion was stalled during the inquiry. After it concluded and the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission approved, Principal Secretary M Devaraj issued the termination order. Chandra was on deputation to West Bengal as a Food and Logistics Department representative.

The Union Cabinet approved an 11.56-km extension of the Noida Metro Rail Project from Sector 142 to the existing Botanical Garden station. The elevated corridor will add eight stations; when operational, the Noida and Greater Noida metro network will total 61.62 km.

At Botanical Garden, passengers can interchange with the Delhi Metro’s Blue Line (Noida City Centre–Dwarka Sector 21) and Magenta Line (Janakpuri West–Botanical Garden), which provides airport access. The corridor will serve commercial centres Advant Business Park (Sector 142), Skymark One Mall (Sector 98) and Mall of Noida (Sector 93); corporate offices including Microsoft (Sector 145), TCS (Sector 157), Infosys, Adobe and Oracle (Sectors 132, 135 and 127); Amity University (Sector 125); and Max Super Specialty Hospital (Sector 128). The project aims to improve access to residential and business areas, reduce congestion and travel times, and cut carbon emissions. Narendra Modi said the extension would boost ease of living and Noida’s development.

Approximately 15,000 families in high-rise apartments in sectors 142 and 143—including Gulshan Ikebana, Victory Crossroads, Logix Blossom Greens, and Gulshan Dynasty—are frustrated with Noida Authority's alleged neglect of civic services.

Complaints include:

• Poor road cleaning
• Waterlogging
• Inadequate drainage
• Insufficient maintenance of green spaces
• Traffic congestion and road safety issues

Resident Ramesh Wangnoo of Gulshan Ikebana (Sector 143) reported raising issues via social media repeatedly over the past year without response. He stated roads have become a dumping ground and greenery is covered in dust from lack of care.

The main entrance from metro pillar 396 to the apartments is a three-lane road that narrows to one lane at SKA Apartments in Sector 142, causing congestion during peak hours. Shahdara market nearby suffers from severe hawker encroachment.