Over 20,000 buyers have flats in Noida projects listed for waivers

Noida: More than 22,000 buyers stuck in as many as 16 incomplete real estate projects in Gautam Budh Nagar have got a fresh ray of hope. The Noida Authority has forwarded to the UP government a list of the projects for zero period policy benefits. Most of the projects are located in the 7X sectors, a cluster of highrises off the Aqua Line from Noida to Greater Noida.
Developers, however, say the policy is just an extension of completion timelines.
The UP government on December 5 last year had notified the zero-period policy to give relaxations to builders. The government had agreed to offer waiver in the previously calculated penal amount imposed due to construction delays, if regulatory hurdles resulted in delayed construction. In Noida, 39 developers had applied for the scheme, out of which 16 projects have been found eligible for securing the benefits.
“Earlier the exemption was to be offered for a period of up to six months. But now due to the Covid pandemic, an exemption of up to one year and a half could be offered to complete the projects on a case-to-case basis,” said an Authority official.
The 16 stuck projects comprise 22,064 flats and the biggest among them is IVR Prime (Avadi) in Sector 118, where 4,065 units remain incomplete. The developer had applied for the plot in 2007 and paid the booking amount upfront. But the Authority gave the possession in 2012 due to acquisition issues. Post that, the two sides got embroiled in a legal battle and the project got delayed. Dues on the developer, meanwhile, kept mounting. Similarly, Supertech Capetown in Sector 74 has an incomplete inventory of 3,636 units.
President of real estate body NAREDCO (Uttar Pradesh chapter) RK Arora said, “Though the government’s order asked the Authority to provide relief to builders who were unable to complete their projects due to NGT orders, bird sanctuary-related regulatory issues or land acquisition delays on the part of authorities, no such relief has been offered. Only time extension charges have been waived.”
However, the CEO of Noida Authority, Ritu Maheshwari, said, “Taking a lenient view, we have already extended the cut-off date to complete the projects to December 31, 2021.”