Approximately one lakh homebuyers in Noida and Greater Noida have been forced to wait to get their homes registered because builders have either not paid dues to the authorities or their projects are incomplete. Consequently, Gautam Budh Nagar district executed only 16,863 flat registries and had earned Rs 656.72 crore until February 28 in financial year 2022-23, officials told Moneycontrol.
There are also around 45,000 to 50,000 unregistered flats in projects where completion certificates have been issued across the district, officials said, adding that the average potential income from the registry of these flats is expected to range between Rs 1,800 crore and Rs 2,000 crore.
Builders owe the authorities approximately Rs 40,000 crore, with Rs 26,000 crore owed to the Noida Authority and nearly Rs 14,000 crore owed to the Greater Noida Authority.
As many as 623 registries were done in the industrial segment, which also includes commercial properties, and revenue of Rs 134.75 crore was generated till February 28 this year, an official said.
Well behind collection target
Data accessed by Moneycontrol shows that till February 28, Gautam Buddh Nagar’s registration department had collected around Rs 2,663.8 crore as against the target of Rs 4,062.8 crore for the fiscal. The amount collected till February 28 was only around 66.9 percent of the total target amount.
“We hope to collect Rs 200 crore to Rs 250 crore more until March 31. Still, there will be a shortfall of almost Rs 1,149 crore from the target of Rs 4,062 crore for the current fiscal. Pending registry of flats across the district is one of the major reasons for this shortfall,” said an official in the registration department, requesting anonymity.
He said that there are nearly 45,000 to 50,000 flats in projects where completion certificates have been issued by the three Authorities in the area but registries are pending. However, as many as 16,863 flat registries were done between April 2022 and February 28. This is around 33 to 37 percent of the pending registries in projects where completion certificates have been issued by the Authorities.
Gautam Budh Nagar district has three development authorities — Noida Authority, Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA). Areas such as Jewar and Dadri also fall within the district.
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On a positive note, officials said that the number of registries was gradually increasing. In financial year 2021-22, as many as 14,894 registries had been done, while in 2022-23, till February 28, the number stood at 16,863, with nearly 1,969 more flats being registered.
Stamp and registration levies
In Gautam Budh Nagar district (comprising Noida and Greater Noida), the stamp and registration department levies 5 percent of the total property cost (flat, plot, house or other property) as stamp fee at the time of execution of a lease deed.
Since February 2019, the UP government has been charging 1 percent of the total property cost as the registration fee. Under an earlier rule, only Rs 20,000 was charged as registration fee. Hence, the total stamp duty fee in Gautam Budh Nagar works out to around 6 percent of the total cost of the property.
Data shows that as many as 39,237 registries were executed in the residential plot and independent house category. Similarly, 8223 registries were done in the agriculture land category.
Pending registries have been a burning issue in Noida and Greater Noida as homebuyers have been protesting over the issue.
Option to exit defaulter category
The Noida and Greater Noida Authorities have also brought a reschedulement policy for defaulter builders, where they can take advantage of the scheme and exit the defaulter category so that registry can begin in their housing projects.
Under the scheme, developers can pay up to 20 percent of the dues up front, with the remainder paid over a two-year period. So far, around seven to eight defaulter builders have shown interest in the scheme in Noida, and the Authority has recovered nearly Rs 50-60 crore through it.
The reschedulement policy ends on March 31, 2023.
Earlier this month, the Noida Authority uploaded the list of all 115 group housing projects on its official website, revealing that the city has 21 completed projects, but that registries have not taken place due to pending dues.
Out of the 115 projects, around 80-90 developers have pending dues. Occupancy certificates have been issued to only 47 societies so far.
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