NOIDA-GREATER NOIDA & RERA UPDATE

(1)-YEIDA to spend Rs 10,000 crore this year

The Noida and Yamuna expressway authorities are all set to tabulate their annual budgets in June, which will be allocated to the two areas in the current financial year. According to sources, nearly Rs 10,000 crore will be allocated to the two areas in 2017-18 While Noida is likely to put aside nearly Rs 6,000 crore, YEIDA is likely to have a budget of Rs 4,000 crore.

(2)-Jaypee Infratech pays Rs100 crore in dues to Yamuna e-way authority

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) received Rs.100 crore from realty major Jaypee Infratech that owes the authority Rs 900 crore in land dues in Jaypee sports city project on Yamuna expressway

(3)-Unitech to give up 219 acre housing plots in Noida

Realty major Unitech has submitted an application to Noida Authority seeking to surrender nearly 219 acre out of the 466 acre it was allotted for three housing projects in Noida. The plots were allotted to the company in sectors 96, 97, 98, 112 and 117 in 2006-07 for housing projects worth Rs 2,500 crore.

According to officials, the company has submitted the application under the UP government's new initiative—Project Settlement Policy (PSP)

(4)-Land worth Rs 700 crore freed from squatters

The Noida Authority freed 34,000 square metres of illegally occupied land in Noida's Sector 150, a notified area along the Noida-Greater Noida expressway and Land worth nearly Rs.700 crore was freed by the team.

Power to buyers under new RERA in UP

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has rewritten real estate regulation rules, doing away with pro-developer clauses that diluted the country’s first ever law to clean up a sector beset by problems of delayed projects.

The new rules, yet to get the state government’s nod, bring all ongoing projects where completion certificate was not issued on May 1, 2016 when the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) was notified, into its ambit. The Samajwadi Party government had tweaked the definition of ‘ongoing project’ to keep majority of projects in cities such as Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad out of the purview of the real estate regulator.

“Yes, we are ready with the fresh draft. We have already held two meetings to give final touches to the rules and intend to get the necessary approval by May 31,” said special secretary, housing, Mahendra Bahadur Singh when contacted by Hindustan Times. Singh heads the panel formed by the Yogi government to rewrite the rules after consumers’ group met the UP CM and told him that instead of homebuyers the rules were framed to favour the builders.

“We have already held two meetings on the subject. Rules have been framed keeping in mind people’s aspirations and the government’s commitment to adopt the Centre’s Act in letter and spirit,” he said.

As per the RERA, an ongoing project is basically a project “for which the completion certificate has not been issued as on May 1, 2015” on the date of commencement of the Act. This basically makes sure that many home projects which are work-in-process come under the Act.

However, four ‘exclusion’ clauses (see box) were added in the UP real estate rules 2016 during the SP regime to keep a majority of the projects out of RERA.

These ‘exclusion’ clauses have now been dropped. Similarly, recommendations on fines and penalties on developers that were also watered down too have been restored as provided in the Centre’s Act.

Other relaxations relating to 70% cap on funds to be utilised by the builder from the money taken from the home buyers have also been reincorporated as provided in the original.

“We have now suggested that a committee, which should also have a representative of RERA, should monitor all such expenses by the developer,” said an official.

WHAT GOES OUT OF THE RULE BOOK

The RERA rules at present exclude such projects which fulfill any of the following criteria.

Where services have been handed over to the local authority for maintenance.

Where common areas and facilities have been handed over to the Residents’ Welfare Associations.

Where all development works has been completed and sale/lease deeds of 60% of the apartments/ houses/plots have been executed.

Where all development works has been completed and application has been filed with the competent authority for issue of completion certificate

New rules will force builders to deliver housing projects on time

NOIDA: More than 100 under-construction real estate projects are likely to be monitored and regulated under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, if the UP government’s move of rewriting the real estate regulation rules is sanctioned.

Under the new RERA rules builders will have to deliver projects on time or face jail time.

“There are 39 realty projects, whose occupancy certificate applications are pending with the Noida authority planning department. There may be another 50 projects without occupation certificates which will be regulated by RERA. We hope that after changes in the real estate act, there is be clarity with regards to completed and ongoing realty projects. It may solve a bulk of problems being faced by the homebuyers,” said Shishir Singh, additional chief executive officer of the Noida authority.

UP government’s pro-buyer stance pertaining to the RERA rules, officials said, will bring relief to thousands of homebuyers, who have purchased flats in yet to be finished projects.

The new rules with stricter fines, however, may also adversely affect homebuyers who have invested in buying flats in sick projects.

“The changed RERA rules will put much-needed pressure on builders to deliver projects on time or face jail time. If a builder fails to fulfil promises made to buyers but wants to save himself from going to jail, he will have to pay 10 percent of the total project cost as penalty under new rules of RERA. Earlier, the provisions of the act provided an escape route to the builder under the ‘ongoing project’ definition, which has now been diluted,” said SK Nagrath, president of Jaypee Aman flat buyers association.

There are 17 under construction projects in the Yamuna Expressway area and Greater Noida has around 40 projects that will now be governed under RERA.