NOIDA: Days after it issued ‘final notices’ to realtors who are yet to clear their land dues, despite govt announcing a policy last Dec that gave builders a chance to reschedule dues, Noida Authority has started putting up notices on premises of housing societies built by these developers, warning that unsold units will be attached if dues are not cleared by this month.
Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M said there are over 20 group housing projects whose developers have either not cleared their dues or showed interest in UP’s relief package. “Some of the developers had initially consented to the relief package and the recalculated dues but are yet to pay up the first tranche of 25%,” he added.
Builders giving consent to the rehabilitation package, introduced in Dec 2023, were to pay 25% of the revised dues within 60 days and the remaining 75% in instalments over one to three years, with the govt waiving off interest and penalties incurred during the pandemic (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022).
Since Tuesday, notices have been put up in more than 10 condominiums, including Ajnara Daffodils in Sector 137, Antriksh Golf View 2 in Sector 78, Grand Omaxe in Sector 93B and Prateek Wisteria in Sector 77. While the notices are aimed at developers, they led to anxiety among homeowners about the impact of such a move on resale of flats because of cancellation of allotment and lease documents that the notice warns of.
Dinesh Singh, the AOA president of Homes 121, said on Wednesday, “The Authority’s actions are nothing short of a farce. Our society has 1,732 flats, all of which are sold. The registry for 125 flats is pending as the builder has not cleared Rs 20 crore dues. Despite being fully aware of this, the Authority has still put a notice outside our society. It seems they intend to harass residents or merely create an illusion of action. The Authority should issue a recovery certificate to recover its dues instead.”
Informing homebuyers about the total dues of a project, the notice says, “The developer has a liability pending against the Authority, which has not been deposited yet. Due to this, the Authority has put a stay on all proceedings/permissions related to the project, and the Authority can take action to cancel the allotment and lease document of the partially/unsold part of the project at any time. Along with this, action can also be taken to attach the unallocated flats of the said project by the Authority.”
Of the 57 defaulter projects in the city, developers of 30 have so far paid the initial 25% of their total dues, which cumulatively amounts to over Rs 250 crore. Five developers had no dues left after they got a two-year ‘zero’ period waiver. Developers of 12 group housing projects, who cumulatively owe Noida Rs 1,697 crore, have not accepted govt’s package so far.
On May 7, they were issued a ‘final’ recovery notice which said that Noida Authority may cancel land allotted to them, especially where flats or plots have not been sold yet, or attach unsold units where construction was partially complete if the dues were not cleared.
Earlier this month, UP govt had also directed Noida Authority to send letters to the builders, who had accepted the relief packages, reminding them about the 60-day deadline for depositing 25% of net dues.
