Noida’s Sports City project is likely to get some momentum as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Uttar Pradesh state assembly has asked the governing body of the Delhi satellite city to furnish details about land available in the sectors where the project is to come up so that developers can resume work, which has been stalled since 2021, officials aware of the matter said.
The project was envisioned as a complex of housing units and commercial developments (30 percent) around sports facilities (70 percent), but has been stalled for more than 12 years.
The idea behind the latest communication is to restart the work on stuck projects to protect the interests of homebuyers. The move is likely to benefit thousands of homebuyers who have invested in different projects in Sports City that have been stuck due to the main developer not having completed the sports facilities mandated under Noida’s Sports City scheme.
The construction work in the project, which was to come up in sectors 78, 79 and 101, was stalled in 2021 after the main developer failed to fulfil the conditions of the lease agreement which was to develop sports facilities in 70 percent area of the land.
Also Read: MC Explains | Stalemate between Noida Authority and developers takes a toll on homebuyers
A senior Noida Authority official said that the government is of the view that homebuyers should not suffer and there should come some solution found.
“The PAC has asked to submit an affidavit regarding the availability of land in Sports City projects where 70 percent sports facilities can be developed and pending projects can be completed. The details are to be furnished in 15 days. We will comply with the directions issued by the PAC,” the official told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.
He said that the directions were issued at a PAC meeting in July 2023, but the authority received them only three to four days back. The official said that the objective behind these directions is to resolve the stalemate by resuming the pending projects in Sports City and develop required facilities there to benefit homebuyers.
As part of the Sports City scheme, land parcels measuring between 150 acres and 200 acres were allotted in sectors 78, 79 and 150, one in Sector 101 and one in Sector 152. These were to have academies for cricket, tennis and swimming along with a nine-hole golf course. Plots in sectors 78, 79 and 101 were allotted to Three C Universal Developers while another parcel in Sector 150 was allotted to Lotus Greens group. One each in Sector 150 and 152 were allocated to Logix Infra Developer and ATS Homes. Three C and Logix are currently under the corporate insolvency resolution process.
According to the terms of the scheme, apart from 70 percent of the area being reserved for recreational and sports facilities, commercial infrastructure was allowed on 10 percent of the area and 20 percent area was to be utilised for developing residential plots or group housing projects.
Following the PAC directions, the Noida Authority has sent notices to two of the four developers—official would not specify which two—and demanded a revised map showing sports facilities of international standard on 70 percent of the land remaining with them. The developers have also been asked to submit an affidavit regarding availability of adequate land for developing green and sports facilities.
According to officials, the authority has also constituted a three-member subcommittee to assess the shortcomings raised by a December 2019 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which had said the Sports City scheme led to losses of Rs 9,000 crore to the exchequer and plots worth Rs 4,500 crore under the scheme were allotted to entities that did not meet the technical eligibility criteria of net worth, turnover or past experience.
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