NOIDA: Over 8,000 buyers who invested in nine group housing projects under Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) in Greater Noida continue to wait for the registration of their properties over dues exceeding Rs 400 crore, incomplete towers, legal hurdles and an impasse over Floor Area Ratio (FAR).
While land parcels for the projects were allotted between 2007 and 2011 when Greater Noida offered a 2.75 FAR, developers redrew maps and got them vetted by UPSIDA again after FAR was increased to 3.5 in 2013.
FAR is a ratio of the area on which a building can be constructed in relation to the size of a land parcel. A higher FAR allows for larger or taller buildings.
While these revised layouts were approved between 2013 and 2014, subsequent UPSIDA officials contested the increase and insisted FAR for projects under it remained 2.75. The lack of consensus held up both completion certificates and the registry process.
Resolution came only recently after the UPSIDA board officially ratified the 3.5 FAR norm, aligning with the revision announced by Greater Noida Authority in 2013. On April 27, the registry process began for 550 flats at Migsun Green Mansion in Zeta 1, the first project under UPSIDA to do so.
Registration of flats also started at E Homes, where the process was stuck as the developer, Designarch Infrastructure, owed Greater Noida Authority Rs 1.4 crore in service charges.
In March, after the DM initiated a process to recover dues, the developer paid Rs 8 lakh and agreed to clear the rest too.
But dues and a lack of formal applications have meant a longer wait for homebuyers in eight other projects.
Cosmos Infraestate Pvt Ltd completed construction of 420 units in Shivalik Homes but is still waiting for a completion certificate as it has yet to clear Rs 94 lakh in lease rent and interest. “Completion certificate is pending as the developer is yet to submit papers online,” Anil Sharma, UPSIDA regional manager, said.
At La Galaxia, where two of the seven towers are still incomplete, 118 families have moved into their flats. On March 28, Aashiyana Promoters Pvt Ltd applied for a completion certificate, but UPSIDA has asked it to clear Rs 8.5 crore dues first.
At Venetia Heights, developer Oasis Buildmart has delivered flats to 241 buyers of a total of 485. It also cleared Rs 1.8 crore of the total Rs 12 crore dues recently and submitted documents for a completion certificate on April 16, but asked to clear the remaining amount now.
Golf Foreste by Paramount Propbuild Pvt Ltd spans 90 acres, with 3,102 units including villas, flats, and studios. Although partial completion for 1,988 villas was granted in 2015, many towers and amenities still await a completion certificate. Dues are significant: Rs 91.7 crore under an arbitrator’s award, and Rs 269 crore without it. Around 2,390 families reside on-site, while the Authority has filed a writ petition challenging the arbitrator’s ruling, pending before the Allahabad High Court.
Four projects remain entirely stalled. These are Ek Dant by Alpine Realtech Ltd, where 502 buyers are affected, and JVK Developers’ project affecting nearly 1,100. Both projects are under NCLT.
No construction has started on a five-acre plot allotted to Ansal Housing & Construction Ltd with an FAR of 2.75, and an additional purchasable 0.75 remains. UPSIDA is considering cancelling the allotment over non-compliance. Another 12-acre plot, allotted to Divine Conbuild Pvt Ltd, remains undeveloped. Although a lease deed was executed in April 2011, no building map was approved. Dues have ballooned to Rs 37 crore. The developer claims delays were caused by a proposed railway line and has requested interest waivers. The UPSIDA lost a writ petition filed by the developer in the Allahabad High Court in Nov 2023, but has contested the matter in the Supreme Court.
“Now that the board has ratified the 3.5 FAR, we are open to issuing completion certificates, but only if developers clear all outstanding payments and submit the necessary documents online,” Sharma said.
