In her last interview with Moneycontrol as CEO of the Noida Authority, Ritu Maheshwari said the Authority is likely to conduct an e-auction of its group housing plot in Sector 43 next month. Maheshwari, who has now been appointed as the Commissioner of Agra, added that as many as five developers, including some top builders, have evinced interest and applied for the Noida Authority scheme.
Maheshwari added that for the first time, the Birla group has shown interest in a group housing plot in Noida.
The Noida Authority had on June 10, 2023, launched two group housing plots located in Sectors 43 and 44. The group housing plot located in Sector 43 measures 41,145 square metres and the one in Sector 44 is 13,800 square metres.
“The screening of bids for the Sector 43 group housing plot is underway and the process may take around a fortnight. We have received around five bids against this plot which some top developers have applied. These include Max Group (Max Estate), Birla Group and Gaursons. This is the first time the Birla group has applied for a group housing project in Noida. This group was not present here earlier,” Maheshwari told Moneycontrol in an interview.
She added that the auction of the Sector 44 group housing plot may take time as not enough bids had been received against that plot. The scheme for the Sector 44 plot has been given a rollover of 14 days.
New payment plan
Maheshwari also said that the Authority is witnessing more transparent deals and receiving interest from builders with a good track record after it introduced a lumpsum payment plan for land purchase.
She said that way back in 2010, builders had to pay an initial amount of 10 percent while the remaining 90 percent was to be paid in a scheduled manner over 7-8 years, which led to dues from developers building up and projects getting stuck.
In 2022, the Authority switched to the new lumpsum payment plan in group housing projects, where builders now have to make the total payment within 90 days of the allotment.
She said the change resulted in a fabulous response as only financially sound players had been coming forward to purchase land from the Authority. So far, nearly four or five group housing plots have been sold under the new payment plan in Noida.
“We are now getting developers who are not defaulters and have a good track record. In the past, two plots were sold directly to Godrej through auction. Godrej was not a direct allottee prior to this,” she said.
Maheshwari added that more transparent deals were happening as the terms are stringent now and defaulters are not able to participate. “We do not want entrants who do not have a clean slate to begin with. And we also don't want them to roam around in the Authority asking for rebates or anything else,” she said.
She added that builders have to pay a lumpsum to get the land and then they will be free and the authority will also be free. This will also make homebuyers feel safe, she said.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
