Noida authority to seal 115 projects due to non-payment of dues

The Noida authority has decided it will seal the unsold flats and towers of the 115 projects, which are in the defaulter category owing to non-payment of dues, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday. Officials said that the properties will be sealed by the authority to recover the pending dues.

The Noida authority chief executive officer Ritu Maheshwari on Tuesday evening reviewed the financial condition of the realty projects of the group housing department. The authority needs to recover around ₹35,000 crore in financial dues from 115 housing as well as commercial projects, officials said. The developers are unable to pay the dues and at least 250,000 homebuyers are in distress, as they cannot register their flats, said officials.

“The authority will act as per the law to recover the dues from developers. The group housing department has been directed to identify the litigation-free assets of those developers who are defaulters. The authority will seize their assets to claim the dues,” said Maheshwari.

Maheshwari directed the staff to seal the unsold flats, realtors’ offices, and unsold towers or other assets to recover the dues from the developers. The authority will identify these assets in the next 15 days and start the sealing process.

In the past, the authority sealed one tower of a developer in Sector 100 and is likely to seal six more projects of other developers defaulting on payment despite repeated notices.

Meanwhile, realtors said that they will not be able to clear the dues until the authority comes up with a policy that reduces the penal interest imposed on the principal amount.

“We have sent our representation to the Uttar Pradesh government and the Noida authority demanding that there should be a policy that addresses our financial crisis, affecting homebuyers. We have demanded that the authority waive the penal interest imposed on the principal amount of each realtor. Realtors are not in a position to pay the dues because of the crisis we have been facing,” said Amit Modi, secretary of the confederation of real estate developers’ association of India (CREDAI), a realtors’ group.