No official can issue occupancy certificate or completion certificate without inspecting the site. Builders must stick to the approved plan or else they will not be given the two key documents, says Authority chairman.
It is an open secret that the administration looks the other way when many private builders hand over possession of flats to buyers without the mandatory Completion Certificate and Occupancy Certificate.
Then there are some builders who are a stickler for rules and there is considerable delay in handing over flats as the OCs and CCs are held up for various reasons.
Now many homebuyers, who are yet to get possession of flats, are demanding that Noida Authority adopt a uniform policy when it comes to allowing possession of flats, whether built by itself or by a private builder. On Saturday, Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (NEFOWA), a group of homebuyers of delayed possession in Noida and Greater Noida, called on Alok Sinha, Principal Secretary, Industrial Development, UP and Chairman of Noida Authority, seeking a clarity on the issue.
The association complained that private developers were handing over possession to homebuyers without getting the CCs and OCs. “There should be a uniform and standard policy followed by the Noida,” the association members said, adding that the authorities must inspect the site and only after conditions were fulfilled that the documents be cleared.
There have been several instances when officers issue certificates without even visiting the site, the association alleged and eventually the residents suffer as they are forced to live without basic facilities.
Abhishek Kumar, NEFOWA president, complained that there are cases when possession of flats has been delayed for over seven years, even after the buyers depositing the stamp paper charges to the builder. During this period, even the stamp paper duties have gone up, which eventually the homebuyers have had to bear and it is an additional burden on them for no fault of theirs, he said.
Shweta Bharti, NEFOWA general secretary, said the chairman gave them a patient hearing and assured that he would address their concerns. He promised that no housing project will be issued OC and CC without proper inspection of the site.
Indrish Gupta, NEFOWA founding member, said chairman Sinha assured that strict action will be taken against the officials and builders responsible for handing over flats in projects that do not have all the structures and facilities in place as projected in the approved building plan and layout.
