Greater Noida to cancel housing projects if they are incomplete

The Greater Noida authority on Thursday said that will cancel the allotment of housing projects, which have not been completed within the stipulated time frame. After cancellation, these projects will be re-allotted to new players and an escrow created to ensure that buyers get a refund.The decision to cancel allotments was taken as several developers have not been able to complete their projects even 12 years after the allotment.

In a review meeting organised on Wednesday, authority officials found that several housing, commercial, institutional and other projects are incomplete even after the expiry of deadline, mainly owing to the fault of developers, said officials.

The Greater Noida authority chief executive officer Ritu Maheshwari chaired the review meeting, which was held at the authority office in Sector Knowledge Park-4 and was attended by all heads of departments.

Maheshwari also asked a consultant, Currie & Brown, to carry out a survey of the ongoing realty projects, which are incomplete even after expiry of deadline, and submit a report within two weeks.

“Let the survey report of Currie & Brown be submitted; the authority will act accordingly. Our focus is to ensure that more and more homebuyers get possession of their respective flats,” said Saumya Srivastava, officer on special duty, Greater Noida authority.
According to the authority, there are 120 functional projects out of 193 in the city and at least 50 projects are currently delayed.

In the past five years, the authority has cancelled the allotment of five realty projects after the developers defaulted on financial payments and failed to deliver projects, despite being given repeated opportunities. According to building by-laws, a developer initially gets five years to deliver the project and later, the time is extended to seven years and then an additional two years. The developer also gets additional time if there is a justified reason for the delay and he makes land cost payment to the authority on time.

But now the authority has decided to cancel the allotment because according to them, some developers have no intention to pay the dues or deliver the project. The authority wants Currie & Brown to prepare a report determining how many projects are incomplete and not in a condition to get delivered.

“If there is a third party right created in an incomplete project, then it means that the developer has failed to complete the project and is now not in a condition to deliver. Then the authority will cancel such projects but it will make sure that homebuyers get a refund from the developer,” said a Greater Noida authority official, asking not to be named.The authority said it will force the developer to open an escrow account so that buyers are assured of a refund.

“The Greater Noida authority has been promising a solution for our plight for the past eight years but nothing has happened. We hope that the authority will take some appropriate steps and address our grievances,” said Sachin Chauhan, a homebuyer.