NOIDA: The Noida Authority on Friday tabled recalculated dues before realtors based on government guidelines issued last month to rescue stalled projects and restart registries, the twin problems that affect nearly 2.3 lakh housing units in the city and in Greater Noida.
The reduction, as a result, in the amount real estate companies have to pay is a significant 21%, which accrues from the 24-month Covid zero period (March 2020-22) for which all interests and penalties have been waived.
The developers of 52 real estate projects in the city were present at Friday’s meeting, with all eyes on the fresh estimate of dues after UP government adopted several proposals of the Amitabh Kant committee to revive stalled projects. Realtors owe the Noida Authority alone around Rs 28,000 crore in dues. After the Covid waiver, if a realtor owes, say, Rs 350 crore, it will now have to pay Rs 275 crore under the revised package.
If realtors accept the recalculated dues and agree to the state government’s rehabilitation proposal, which means agreeing to a time-bound payment plan, they will be eligible for the second tranche of zero period waiver of 20 months between 2013 and 2015, when the National Green Tribunal barred construction within a 10km radius of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.
But unlike the blanket waiver for the pandemic, this relief will be extended case by case after a scrutiny of applications.
The developers will meet industrial development commissioner Manoj Kumar Singh on Saturday and discuss the offer in detail.
At the Noida Authority office on Friday, the meeting with the builders started around 11am. Although the developers of 57 housing projects were called, those of 52 attended the meeting. Most sent their finance executives.
Officials said there was no major difference between the dues calculated by the chartered accountant hired by Noida Authority and those drawn up by the realtors.
“Most builders were clear about their dues and the rebates they were being offered. Some, who had paid a portion of the dues during the pandemic, had some questions. They were asked to sit with our officials for a clarification. We asked them to attend the meeting on Saturday for any further clarification and sign the deal,” said Lokesh M, the Noida Authority CEO.
After the realtors accept the recalculated dues and sign the offer, the Noida Authority board will give a final approval. After that, builders will need to pay 25% of the dues within the next 60 days and obtain the necessary clearances for construction to resume in their projects.
Homebuyers can also go ahead with registries. According to an estimate, the 57 housing projects whose developers were called for the meeting have around 32,000 flats awaiting registry.
Most builders appeared happy with the rebate. Some said they would not get a better deal in a market where property prices were on the rise.
Manoj Gaur, the Credai president in NCR, said the Noida Authority should do away with other technical bottlenecks so that completion certificates are issued for the projects and buyers can get their properties registered.
“Every builder has a different problem – be it time extension, additional compensation or some other technical issue. All these problems should be resolved on a case-to-case basis and permission for work to resume should be granted at the earliest,” he told TOI.
Developers who sign the government’s rehabilitation package will get other benefits as well. They can apply for an extension up to three years to complete their projects, partially surrender land lying unused, bring in co-developers and purchase unused floor area ratio (FAR), among others.
