The Noida Authority and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) in their respective board meetings on December 28 approved a policy for rescheduling payment of dues owed by builders, a move that is aimed at providing relief to developers in clearing their outstanding. The decision will also benefit homebuyers.
The reschedulement policy, which was approved in the meeting, will be applicable from January 1 to March 31, 2023, to builders and commercial schemes that include group housing and sports city.
The move comes after real estate developers appealed to the Noida Authority and GNIDA to provide them relaxation and address the woes of the real estate sector in terms of pending dues and stalled registries.
Builders owe more than Rs 39,500 crore to the two authorities — Rs 26,000 crore to Noida, and Rs 13,500 crore to GNIDA.
Also Read: Builders may have to pay land dues to Noida, Greater Noida Authorities at a higher rate
The rescheduling or amnesty policy is aimed at providing relief to defaulting builders who have expressed their inability to pay such huge sums. As many as 135 of 197 projects in Greater Noida have outstanding dues. In Noida, about 100 out of 116 projects fall in the defaulting category.
“In the board meeting, the Authority has approved the reschedulement policy for payment of dues owed by builders. Under the policy, the reschedulement of the outstanding amount will be only for two years. The reschedulement will be applicable on the total outstanding amount which includes original instalment, additional compensation and lease rent,” the authority noted.
According to the policy, builders will have to submit 20 percent of the total outstanding within one month after the release of the letter of reschedulement. If two instalments of the allottee default, then the Authority will cancel the allotment without any information, the statement said.
These decisions were taken at board meetings of Noida Authority, GNIDA and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Authority on Wednesday, which were headed by Arvind Kumar, the chairman of these authorities.
In a setback to real estate developers in Noida and Greater Noida, the Supreme Court on November 7 recalled its June 2020 order that directed the authorities to cap the rate of interest at 8 percent for the delay in payment of land dues by real estate firms. This means that the builders would have to pay dues at an increased rate set by the authorities.
Keeping the interests of home buyers in mind, the GNIDA also approved relaxation in time extension charges on builder plots. A proposal in this connection was also approved during the board meeting.
“On demand of CREDAI and NAREDCO, the Authority has made amendments to the time extension charges. Now there will be no charge for seven years on full completion of the project while in the 8th year it will be one percent, in the 9th year two percent, three percent in the 10th year, four percent in the 11th year, five percent in the 12th year, six percent in the 13th year, seven percent in the 14th year and eight percent in the 15th year,” the GNIDA statement said.
It added that the move will benefit 1.57 lakh homebuyers as around 195 plots are allotted, out of which 61 projects have been completed and 50 are partly completed and the rest are yet to be completed in Greater Noida. The relaxation in time extension charges will help homebuyers of these projects.
The authority has also decided not to take a time extension charge on the construction that has been completed.
Policy on data centres
With an aim to bring investment from across the country and abroad for the construction of data centre, the Noida Authority in its 208th meeting decided that data sector parks and units will be given permission for 3+1 floor area ratio (FAR).
The authority also noted that points such as not considering the use of diesel generating sets in the basements of data centres a part of FAR, 40 percent separate space additional from the FAR for establishing the generating set and providing the option of the use of FAR for generating set; will be included in the building bye-laws after taking suggestions and objections from the public.
Pet policy for Greater Noida
In line with the Noida Authority, GNIDA on Wednesday also approved a pet policy for Greater Noida which will make the registration of pets mandatory with the Authority within one month from the announcement of the policy.
The owners of pet dogs and cats will have to get their pets mandatorily registered on the GNIDA’s app. Otherwise, appropriate action will be taken against the pet parent.
The Noida Authority on December 12 implemented its pet policy making it compulsory for pet owners to register their pets by January 31, 2023 or pay a fine.
According to the Noida pet policy, if a pet injures a person, the pet owner will have to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 and bear the expenses for the treatment of the injured.
The GNIDA pet policy also said that relaxation will be provided to those people who adopt 10 or more street dogs. These dogs will be vaccinated free of cost and the dog feeder will be given dedicated identity cards by the Resident Welfare Associations or the Apartment Owners' Associations.
Also Read: Noida Authority implements pet policy; asks people to register their pets by January 31
Revision in purchase rates from farmers
The Noida Authority has increased by Rs 294 the square metre price of the land purchased from farmers.
In a statement, the Authority said that till now it was purchasing land from farmers on a mutual agreement at a rate of Rs 5,060 per square foot, but it has been decided by the board to increase it to Rs 5,324 per square foot.
Structural Safety Policy
Along lines of the Noida Authority, the GNIDA also approved a structural safety audit policy for the high-rise buildings in Greater Noida.
As per the policy, a structural audit of the buildings will be done. The builder will have to bear the expenses of the structural safety audit of the high-rise five years after the completion.
A panel will soon be formed for the structural audit in which representatives of IIT, NIT, CSIR and other such institutions will be included.
Extension of Noida Metro
The GNIDA in its board meeting also approved a detailed project report for the extension of the Aqua line of the Noida Metro to Bodaki from Depot station in Greater Noida with an expenditure of Rs 416 crore.
Currently, the Noida Metro starts at Sector 52 of Noida and culminates at the Depot station in Greater Noida.
According to the statement issued by GNIDA, the 2.6 km extension will connect Noida and Greater Noida with Multi Model Transport Hub (MMTCH) at Bodaki. The estimated cost of the extension project will be around Rs 416 crore. This 2.6- km metro line will be elevated.
Registration of Properties between blood relation
With an aim to benefit the homebuyers, the Noida Authority in its board meeting decided that a transfer fee will not be levied on the transfer of properties between siblings.
The Authority decided that these relations will be considered blood relations and hence there will be no transfer fee on the transfer of properties.
Funds for Jewar Airport
The Authority has to pay Rs 453 crore for the second phase of the Jewar Airport. In its meeting, the GNIDA decided that the amount will be paid in four instalments and the first instalment of Rs 113 crore will be issued soon. The remaining amount will be paid through loans from banks.
In the Jewar Airport project, the GNIDA and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) each have a stake of 12.5 percent. The Noida Authority and the State government have 37.5 percent shares each.
The Noida Authority has also decided to pay Rs 135.9 crore in the second phase of the Noida International Airport.
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