NOIDA: A recent order by the Supreme Court is likely to pave the way for construction to begin on Unitech’s long-stalled projects involving around 6,000 homebuyers in the city. But buyers — who have been waiting for more than a decade for their homes — have raised apprehension, seeking to know where the developer will get funds to start construction.
On April 26, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra modified its earlier order asking Noida Authority to approve revised layouts of Unitech on the entire land allotted to the builder without insisting on dues, which exceeds Rs 10,000 crore.
As the Authority raised concern about layouts on land where there were no buyers yet, the court divided it into two categories — one where plots were already allotted to buyers for flats and another where projects were yet to be launched.
The court asked Noida Authority to approve the first set of land parcels by May 31. A decision on the other plots, it said, would be taken later.
“The industrial development authorities shall, on or before May 31, 2024, grant all sanctions and approvals for the revised layout plans, building plans, and ancillary permissions, subject to the deposit of the balance amount, if any, that is required on account of current scrutiny fees in terms of the order which was passed by this court on February 1, 2023,” the order read.
Noida Authority told the court it had “absolutely no objection” to the construction that is supposed to be carried out by a govt-appointed board.
Lokesh M, the Noida Authority CEO, told TOI on Thursday they were going through the order in detail. “We don’t have any problem approving building plans for existing homebuyers. But, we need to study the order in its entirety before taking necessary steps,” he said.
The Unitech board, too, is planning to write to Noida Authority, seeking to know its approval plans.
YS Malik, a former IAS officer who was appointed chairperson of the Unitech board in 2020, said once the layouts were approved, it could start construction as the contacts were ready.
“We will write to the Authority in a couple of days. We are ready with our contractors and will issue work orders as soon as we get the approvals for the plans,” he added.
Homebuyers are, however, sceptical about the completion of their projects anytime soon.
“Even if construction starts, we don’t know if they will be completed. How will the Unitech board generate funds from the sale of its inventories? Given Unitech’s delays in handovers and the legal hurdles it has faced, we are not sure if people would be interested in investing here,” said Sanjeev Sood, president of Amber’s homebuyers’ association.
The generation of funds is crucial for the construction of flats. According to a revised layout submitted by Unitech last year, the developer will not only deliver flats to existing buyers but also launch projects to generate revenue from them and fund the current construction.
Noida Authority has, however, refused to accept the proposal. It has said that Rs 11,000 crore needed to finish the projects could be raised through payments from homebuyers and selling inventory in the existing projects itself.
In Noida, Unitech has three ongoing projects (Amber, Burgundy, and Willow 1 and 2) under Unitech Golf and Country Club township, which is spread across 347 acres in sectors 96, 97, and 98. The three projects have 1,091 units among them, of which 958 are sold.
In 2008, Noida Authority allotted land for six projects in sectors 113 and 117 to Unitech. Altogether, 6,000 buyers have been waiting for their flats and villas for the past 10 years.
