Centre pitches Rs 1,000cr to decongest Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway

In a bid to address chronic congestion that holds up daily commutes to Gurgaon and causes heavy jams within the city, the highways ministry approved an investment of Rs 1,000 crore to free up three major junctions--IFFCO, Signature, and Rajiv Chowk--on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

The government expects these key traffic intersections to become signal-free in less than three years, as the decongestion plan aims to address the traffic flow from Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway to destinations within Gurgaon. Around 80% of the traffic is inbound to Gurgaon rather than heading towards Rajasthan.

Officials said the proposal for underpasses and cloverleaves addressed the specific needs of each junction. "The scheme also takes care of roads directly linked to these congestion points," a ministry source said.

These junctions see a huge pile-up of vehicles during peak hours and the spill over extends on to the main expressway, often blocking traffic on the high-speed corridor. Ministry officials said these measures were long overdue considering that the road infrastructure is inadequate to disperse a growing traffic load efficiently.

At IFFCO Chowk, two clover-leafs will be built across the expressway for seamless movement of traffic on MG Road.

"Since building underpass on this stretch is not feasible at the crossing, cloverleaves have been approved. During peak hour, nearly 800 vehicles come from Delhi towards Old Gurgaon and nearly 2,150 vehicles coming from Mehrauli side head towards Dhaula Kuan. We have provisioned wider road to cater to the growing traffic," a ministry official said.

Moreover, one underpass will be built for traffic coming from Huda City Centre, another major choke point, towards Mehrauli near the Gurgaon Central Mall.

SOURCE: magicbricks.com

Government Sets Ambitious 40-km New Roads a Day Target

The government will lay more than 40 km of roads every day,  revising the earlier target of 16 km per day in 2016-17. The decision to more than double the current pace was taken following the positive response received by the road ministry.

It has also increased the target to award projects by 2.5 times to 25,000 km during the financial year 2016-17.

“The minister has set a target of 25,000 km of national highways to be awarded in 2016-17 as against the 10,000 km awarded in 2015-16. The construction target has been set at 15,000 km as against the 6,000 km constructed last year", an official statement said

In 2015-16, the ministry was able to award around 10,000 km of highway contracts worth Rs 1 lakh crore.Last year, the ministry had awarded a record 10,000 km of projects and constructed 6,000 km of highways, which is 36 percent higher than the preceding fiscal.

The speeding up of road projects has been made possible due to several policy interventions which include the ministry being empowered to decide mode of delivery, increased threshold for project approval, enhanced inter-ministerial coordination, exit policy and promoting innovative project implementation models like hybrid annuity model.

SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS

Supertech asked to seal 1,009 flats in Greater Noida's Czar project

The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) has asked realty major Supertech to seal 1,009 flats and villas at its sprawling Czar complex in Sector Omicron-1, Greater Noida, for large-scale violation of the sanctioned plan.

Nearly half of these 1,009 units, which include 105 villas, have been sold. GNIDA claims the company had permission for just 844 housing units at Czar, but built 15 residential towers with a total of 1,853 units in this 20-acre township. Supertech, however, told TOI it had not violated any rule.

Two years ago, Supertech had faced a major crisis when the Allahabad high court asked it to demolish two residential towers, Apex and Ceyane, at its prestigious Emerald Court project in Noida's Sector 93A. Supertech had taken permission to build two 24-storey towers, but later raised the height to 40 storeys. The order was later stayed by the Supreme Court, which is now hearing the case, but it has been a huge blow to those who bought properties there, many of whom have taken a refund from Supertech.

In the case of Czar, while no one has as yet moved into any of the 1,009 flats hit by the GNIDA order, some 200 families have already started living in other units at the complex. Residents of these units first noticed the reported violations and complained to GNIDA.

Following the complaints, GNIDA served Supertech a notice on April 11, giving the developer 30 days to seal the properties or face penal action. The flats affected are spread across several towers, including 4, 5, 6 and Nicolas. Flats at Czar are now selling for between Rs 2,525 and Rs 3,890 per sq ft. Supertech denied any violation in its 20-acre township Czar, saying it had purchased additional floor area ratio and submitted revised plans for sanction.

R K Arora, managing director of Supertech, said, "We constructed the additional units after purchasing additional floor area ratio (FAR) from GNIDA in December 2014. The revised building plan to accommodate the additional units has also been submitted to the Greater Noida Industrial Authority (GNIDA). These extra units are within the permissible limit and are covered under the UP government's policy for purchasing FAR."
He added, "We are ready to pay the additional cost for the units. We have submitted revised plans to GNIDA for sanction."

GNIDA said sanctions could not be sought in retrospect. "Construction cannot be carried out first and sanctions applied for later," P C Gupta, additional CEO of GNIDA, said. "Land for Czar was allotted to the developer on September 15, 2006 and the lease deed was executed on January 10, 2007. The layout plan for Phase 1of the project was sanctioned on March 30, 2007. Then, we cleared two revised plans in October 2010 and March 2013 for 844 residential units," he added.

Gupta said GNIDA began a scrutiny of Czar after receiving complaints from residents on layout plan violations. "We checked and discovered that Supertech had built a total of 1,853 residential units. We issued a notice to the company immediately to seal Tower 4 in Block C. In Tower Nicolas, permission was granted for 52 units but the company has built 92 units, which is in violation of the building plan," Gupta said. "Units in Towers 5 and 6 and rowhouses are not sanctioned either. A temple has also been built, which we have asked the developer to raze. This is a violation of the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act," he added.

Times View 

It is shocking that people who may have sunk their life's savings into buying a house should find their investment suddenly at risk because the building is apparently in violation of various rules. There is no way a structure of this size could have come up without the authorities noticing. So why was it allowed to come up and why were houses allowed to be sold in the first place?

Didn't the banks that cleared the home loans do due diligence to check that all approvals were in place and the rules were being followed? If none of this happened, the builder, the authority and the banks all must share the blame. Why should the only blameless party in the entire episode - the poor homeowner - be left to pay the price?

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Noida, 2 others offer easy payment plans to land defaulters to recover dues

The Noida Authority has joined the two other Gautam Budh Nagar authorities to start a scheme that offers easier rescheduled payment plans to defaulting land allottees, in order to recover dues that amount to nearly Rs 15,000 crore. The total land dues for the three authorities is Rs 24,000 crore.

Noida officials said the new scheme will only run till April 30, under which allottees will have one chance to submit an application and accept the rescheduled payment plan. Financial consultant EY has cleared the Authority's payment scheme, and it will be open to allottees across all categories of land use group housing, institutional, industrial, commercial and individual allottees.

The Noida Board had approved the rescheduled payment plan in the last week of March, after allottees cited economic slowdown as reason for them being unable to pay up. A senior Authority official said defaulting allottees will have to pay a fixed percentage of the total dues within 30 days of their applications being approved by the planning and property department of Noida.

"Initially, an allottee who has an outstanding amount exceeding Rs 500 crore, will have to pay up 10% of the amount, while allottees owing the Authority less than Rs 500 crore will have to pay 15% of the due amount," the official said, adding all allottees will have to pay interest on the balance amount, which will be collected in instalments.

Officials of all three authorities said strict action will be taken against allottees who refuse to pay up. "Not only will we issue lease deed cancellation notices, we can even seal or impound their properties," said an official.

The amnesty scheme was first offered by Greater Noida Authority, under which allottees were initially asked to pay 25% of the total dues. It ended on March 31. The Yamuna Expressway Authority (YEIDA), on the other hand, is examining defaulters case by case.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

2% hike in stamp duty by April-end

The stamp duty in Noida and Greater Noida will be increased to 7% from the current 5% by end of April, sources in UP stamp and registration department told TOI on April 17. While a notification for the same has already been issued by UP industries department, the stamp and registration department too will issue a notification within a week.

There are over 30,000 registries pending mainly due to delay on the part of developers, who are yet to make payments to Noida Authority. According to sources, without payment, the Authority does not issue completion certification to developers, without which, the stamp and registration department does not register properties.

Sources said that the notification has been intentionally delayed to register maximum deeds. Developers, on the other hand however, said the hike will negatively impact real estate in GB Nagar.

TOI was the first to report on the state government's approval of hike proposal that the state government had approved hiking of stamp duty by 2% in all cities. The hike will put an extra Rs 1-2 lakh burden on each buyer, while the revenue department expects to earn an additional Rs 100 crore.

With thousands of flats routinely delivered late in GB Nagar, especially those affected by the Okhla Bird Sanctuary row, it will be a double whammy for many buyers.

SOURCE: magicbricks.com

Developer can't claim extra FSI for building plan rejig

Builders generally tend to keep revising plans so that they can get the benefit of the additional FSI which may become available due to change in government policies and development control regulations. This is neither legal nor ethical. The Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act prohibits a builder from making any alterations to the sanctioned plans after executing an agreement to sell a flat. If any change is to be made, it would require the express consent of the flat purchasers. Even a blanket consent agreeing to any change in the plans is not valid, as it would not constitute "informed consent". Besides, when the builder sells flats, he includes the cost of the land, construction cost, and also his profits in the sale price; so any additional FSl which may subsequently become available rightfully belongs to the flat purchasers who would collectively form the society. If additional FSI is available, it would be beneficial to the society in future for redevelopment. Here is a case of a society which fought against a builder and succeeded.

Case Study: Raj Sahakari Gruhnirman Sanstha Maryadit, a co operative housing society at Uran, comprising 46 residential flats and 49 shops was constructed by Patil Associates. As there were various grievances to which no heed was paid, the society filed a complaint before the Raigad District Forum.

The complaint stated that the builder had recovered charges for conveyance in excess of what was stated in the agreement, but had failed to execute it, so as to try and retain the right to utilize the additional FSI. Other disputes were about creation of third party rights by leasing out the parking space meant for flat purchasers, and leakage problems. The builder had also omitted to get land usage changed from agricultural to non agricultural, had failed to obtain Occupation Certificate, and had not furnished the records and registers as required by law. Penalties imposed on the builder for various breaches by the local authorities had also not been paid.

The builder contested the complaint, denied the allegations, and questioned the society's right to file a consumer complaint.

The forum considered various judgments and legal provisions cited by Adv. Vinod Sampat who argued on behalf of the society. By its order dated October 31, 2015, the forum restrained the builder from creating any third party interest in the property. The forum observed that the builder had violated the statutory requirement to execute conveyance within four months of formation of the society. The area below the stilt was considered to be a part of the common amenities meant for car parking, and would have to be included in the conveyance. The forum directed the builder to execute and register the conveyance at his cost within 90 days.

The forum also ruled that in case any additional FSI was available, its benefit would be accrued to the society. It ordered the builder to ensure that construction was as per sanctioned plan, and to remove all illegal constructions within 30 days.

The forum also ordered the builder to remove defects in the construction and provide all promised amenities. The forum also held the builder and its partners Sunil Narayan Patil and Sagar Pramod Patil jointly and severally liable to pay a lumpsum compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh to the society.

Conclusion: A consumer forum can not only restrain a builder but also order him to remove illegal constructions.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Dhoni resigns as brand ambassador of realty firm Amrapali after Twitter outrage

Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni has resigned as brand ambassador of realty firm Amrapali, days after a social media campaign by unhappy residents of the company's Saphhire project in Noida went viral. The residents had tagged Dhoni in their tweets, asking him to either disassociate himself from the builder or force it to ensure completion of pending work.

"Dhoni is no longer our brand ambassador... This decision was taken mutually by him and us as his name is getting sullied in a controversy which is not in his control and despite the company's sincerest assurances to buyers to sort out matters to their satisfaction," Amrapali Group chairman and managing director Anil Sharma told TOI.

Earlier this week, Dhoni had said in a press conference that he would take up the matter with the builder and it must deliver on its promises. "... if you see the economy... it is quite tough for the builder as of now. But at the same time, whatever is promised, I think it needs to be met," he had said.

About 900 families have moved in, but civil and electrical work in many towers is still incomplete, according to the residents.

The residents' association had alleged, among other things, that electrical panels were open, wires were hanging, and firefighting equipment, sprinklers and alarms were non-functional. They said their complaints were ignored by the management, which led them to tag Dhoni on Twitter with #AmrapaliMisuseDhoni last week.

Amrapali's Sharma said a controversy about some minor fitment problems was unnecessarily blown out of proportion. He said only a few of the families had problems, which would be addressed soon.

He also argued that the delay in the project was mainly due to the restriction on construction activities by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) between November 2013 and August 2015.

Interestingly, a parliamentary committee had recently recommended a maximum punishment of five years' jail and a fine of Rs 50 lakh for celebrities appearing in misleading advertisements and endorsements.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com