In the first round of relief for the real estate sector, the Uttar Pradesh government has allowed Noida Authority, Greater Noida Authority and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Area authority to slash interest rates on outstanding balance with the developers.

The move will help real estate developers deliver pending projects faster.

The government has allowed the said authorities to charge builders an interest rate of MCLR+1 per cent. MCLR or marginal cost of funds-based lending rate is the minimum interest rate that a bank can lend at. The reduced interest rate will help builders, hit hard by Covid-19 lockdown, to deliver projects faster.

CEO Noida Authority Ritu Maheshwari said that, with this order, the penal and simple interests on Authority dues pending with builders will be shifted and deferred.

The nationwide lockdown, due to Covid-19, has crippled the real estate sector as it brought the construction work on pending projects to a standstill. Even as the Centre has allowed the builders to deliver projects six months later without any penalty, the industry has been hit hard due to stagnate construction.