NOIDA: Thousands of homebuyers have their anxious eyes on an upcoming hearing in the Supreme Court, which could determine the fate of Unitech housing projects in Noida that are running years behind schedule and have seen no progress for years as the company’s promoters landed in jail and the reins were passed over to a government-appointed board.
The Supreme Court, which in February allowed the government-appointed board of Unitech to submit its revised layout and building plans for nearly 10 projects spread across Noida and directed the Noida Authority, the landowning agency, to process the same without insisting on upfront payment of dues, is likely to hear the matter in its next hearing.
On November 3, the top court directed the Unitech board and the Noida Authority to reach mutually agreed upon terms before finalising the layout plans.
“…the additional solicitor general and senior counsel appearing on behalf of Noida Authority and Greater Noida shall sit together so that an agreed formulation can be tendered before this court for passing an order which would sub-serve the interest of ensuring the commencement of construction while protecting the legitimate concerns of the planning authorities,” the court order stated.
Noida Authority, however, has told Unitech that it was not keen on approving the revised maps before the realtor cleared its Rs 10,000 crore dues.
The Authority has also flagged objection to Unitech’s claim that third-party rights have been established on vacant lands. Officials asserted that several prime land parcels still remain unclaimed by any third party. The Authority is unwilling to proceed with map clearances until these issues are resolved.
Earlier, Unitech’s management had sought exemptions over dues to enable it to commence pending works, allowing possession to be handed over to homebuyers. They submitted that tenders for several projects had been finalised and the realtor was in the process of issuing letters of intent (LOIs) to contractors following the SC’s approval.
In its revised plan, Unitech proposed to construct new towers in undeveloped areas of its land parcels to generate capital and resources for completing the stalled projects.
According to the resolution plan submitted by Unitech to the Supreme Court in July 2022, the proposed plotted development of Noida land parcels will generate Rs 5,641 crore while the cost of completing the existing projects exceeds Rs 1,800 crore.
A total of 6,944 units were launched by the realtor in 10 projects across Noida. Of these, 5,980 units were sold but the delivery of 5,153 units is pending.
Following the November 3 SC order, the Unitech management granted homebuyers until December 15 to finalise their option to either take a refund or flat possession as a one-time measure. Homebuyers who previously received partial refunds but now opt for possession will be required to deposit the refunded amount with the company within eight weeks.
The Unitech management said it was in the process of awarding construction contracts in 49 tenders, paving the way for the commencement of construction at project sites nationwide, including Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Kolkata, Ambala, and Bhubaneshwar among others.
