A standing committee of the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) and Noida Authority will assess all housing projects that apply for zero-period waiver and ascertain the amount that each builder will be exempt from paying. The calculation for how much relief would be extended to homebuyers would be dependent on this individual calculation.
On Tuesday, UP government had approved the zero-period policy under which builders will be excused from paying interest on outstanding land dues for the years when litigation stopped construction work. Only those defaulting developers who can deliver all flats due by the end of 2021 will be eligible for the relief, which will be given at the time of the final settlement. In the meantime, they will continue with their payments as per the existing schedule.
GNIDA CEO Narendra Bhooshan said that the policy will help them regain all pending dues from the builders, as the basic condition for availing of zero-period waiver is that they should get completion certificates by 2021. “For that, paying up all dues would become mandatory,” he said.
The authority, he said, stands to get Rs 3,000 crore from builders as land revenues. “Out of Rs 6,000 crore of dues from land revenues, Rs 3,000 crore is not recoverable from Amrapali group. However, we will still get Rs 3,000 crore from the 70-80 projects that are likely to apply for the zero-period waiver.”
“We will surely have to absorb some losses, but it will help increase our cash flow. Some of these dues have been pending for years,” Bhooshan added. Noida Authority has Rs 15,000 crore of dues from land revenues.
The ‘zero period’, as an impact of litigation, would apply to 2011-12 when work was completely stopped at Noida Extension projects, a total of 13 months. Realtors, however, are demanding a waiver till 2015 when GNIDA was in court on the issue, citing problems in obtaining finances during the period.
Also in this purview would be Noida projects affected by the bird sanctuary legal case for two years from 2012-14. Breaks due to pollution-related construction bans and acquisition issues pending between the Noida Authority, or GNIDA, and farmers, and the authorities not being able to hand over land in time will also be eligible for zero period.
“We are eagerly awaiting the breakdown of the zero-period component by the GNIDA and the Noida Authority and we want clarity and transparency in the calculation process as well, so that buyers are given exactly what they deserve as part of these discounts,” Abhishek Kumar, president, Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (Nefowa), said.
