Noida, Dec 31 (SocialNews.XYZ) In a relief to home buyers, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved the recommendations of the Amitabh Kant committee report on real estate projects that include giving immediate possession and registry of the properties.
Following the acceptance of the orders issued by the Noida and Greater Noida authorities in builder-buyer cases, a clear path seems to be emerging for the 1.12 lakh flat buyers in the region.
The UP government’s decision would benefit a large number of home buyers in Noida and the Greater Noida region of the state.
In the board meeting of the Noida Authority and the Greater Noida Authority held on December 26, Noida Authority's Chairman Manoj Kumar Singh and members of both authorities decided to accept the orders.
Following this decision, approximately buyers of 32,000 flats in 56 projects in Noida and around 75,000 flats in 117 projects in Greater Noida can receive possession. These figures include completed and partially completed flats.
Apart from this, out of the remaining 1.33 lakh flats, 1.10 lakh are currently tangled in court.
It is expected that in the next three years, the pending projects will be completed, and the completed projects will receive occupancy certificates within three months.
Based on the recommendation of the committee, led by the former CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant, the state government has issued administrative orders.
The committee had recommended introduction of a 'Zero Period' suspending interest and penalties due to events like the Covid-19 pandemic (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022), and court orders suspending projects within a 10 km radius of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary (August 14, 2013 to August 19, 2015).
This provision will apply case to case. After availing the benefit of the zero period, the remaining amount must be deposited within 60 days at 25 per cent of the total, and the remaining 75 per cent must be deposited with normal interest within three years. Approval to complete the project will be granted to the developer upon fulfilling these conditions
According to Gopal Krishna Agarwal, senior spokesperson of the BJP and social worker, the struggle of the builders and buyers is long-standing. Homebuyers are trapped on one side, having invested money in stalled projects, while bank loans are still pending, and on the other side they have to pay rent for their rented accommodations.
When the The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was implemented in 2016, homebuyers, who fall under the category of financial creditors, were not involved legally. Therefore, they were not members of the Committee of Creditors. Changes were made in the law by talking to the Finance Minister and the Urban Development Ministry, and homebuyers were included.
Although the Central government created the Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH), no solution seemed to be emerging. The biggest problem was the stalled projects, where promoters or developers had diverted funds, and construction was not progressing. Registration, compliance, and occupancy certificates are significant issues in stalled projects.
The government formed a committee under the leadership of Amitabh Kant to find a solution to the problem.
Meanwhile, Gopal Krishna Agarwal also released a white paper in which he made a report after talking to various stakeholders. The registration issue was considered a good solution, but the focus was on how to restart the stalled projects so that buyers could get relief.
As per the white paper, the main problem was that the land given to the builder by the authority was given on installment, and its ownership has not been transferred. When the promoters took a loan from the bank for this project but stopped giving installments to the authority, on the other hand, they also diverted funds from the buyers, who got stuck.
Some suggestions have also been given, after which a solution may emerge. Authorities have imposed heavy penalties and interest rates on builders.
However, to resolve this, interest and penalties will have to be removed on builders, and the principal will have to be paid.
If developers have excess land on which the project has not been built, they will have to surrender it under the one-time surrender policy of the state government. In this case, the bank will have to prepare for a loss because their money has ultimately drowned.
In the coming time, it is also necessary to determine how much additional amount is needed to revive thses projects.
The SWAMIH Fund, which the Central government created to lend for reconstruction, will have to be increased from Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore.
Source: IANS
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