A Times of India Presentation, FAST FACT WORK TO RESUME AT

CMYK

Encouraged by positive indica-tions from the NCR PlanningBoard to go ahead with the Master Plan 2021, the Greater

Noida authority is planning to re-sched-ule developmental work in and aroundNoida Extension.

There is also a clear indication fromthe Allahabad high court on a review petition filed by the Greater Noida authority. So, you may now breathe easyabout that dream house of yours. The uncertainty over completion of projectslaunched in Noida Extension appears tobe lifting.

If the trend of these positive develop-ments continues, developers and builderscan restart construction work this monthitself. They have been waiting for thismoment since the Allahabad high courtverdict over the land row. Sources saythat the Master Plan 2021 of Greater Noi-da has almost been cleared and is await-ing a formal announcement of the sub-re-gional cell, Uttar Pradesh.

Anil Sharma, the vice president ofCredai and the chairman and managingdirector of Amrapali Group, says: "This is

a relief for builders and developers whoseprojects have been delayed since the dis-pute erupted over land acquisitions. Afterthe Supreme Court verdict, whichquashed the land acquisition of Shah-beri, a number of projects were in limbo."

In a writ petition number, Ramesh Ku-mar Bhagchandka versus UP and others,it has been said that the Master Plan 2021does not have any approval of the NCRPlanning Board, which is a statutorybody constituted under the an act of 1985.According to the act, a plan must first beprepared and if necessary land acquisi-tion would be done.

In the present case of Noida Extension,the acquisition proceedings have beenundertaken and thereafter the land wassought to be utilized by allotment tobuilders for raising construction that gocontrary to the plan. Under these cir-cumstances, the petition says the pro-posed acquisition is illegal be set aside.In this context, the Allahabad high courthas directed the Greater Noida authorityto obtain clearance from the NCR Plan-ning Board for its master plan, and thengo ahead with the development process.

Experts say there is no provision forapproval of the master plan prepared bythe development authority from the NCRPlanning Board. The provision is only forsub-regional plan; the Master Plan of2021 was sent to the NCR Planning Boardfor approval in 2006 and 2009, though.

According to the rules, the NCR Planning Board can raise objections to the plan within 60 days from the time the plan was submitted to them bythe development authority. After the ex-piry of this period, it cannot be chal-lenged. It was thus that the Greater Noi-da authority urged the Allahabad highcourt for review of the decision over themaster plan.

The Greater Noida authority has nowclubbed its Master Plan 2021 with thenewly drafted Master Plan 2031 and sentit to the Housing and Urban Planning De-partment, Lucknow, for approval, toavoid a similar situation in future.

The Housing and Urban Planning De-partment is preparing sub-regional plansfor development authorities like Yamu-na, Noida-Greater Noida and GhaziabadAuthority. The sub-regional plans of Noi-

da and Greater Noida have almost beencleared.

Impact of court’s verdictAfter the court verdict that awarded

64.7% additional amount and 10% of thedeveloped plot as compensation to farm-ers, Noida and Greater Noida authoritieshave been issuing notices to all the devel-opers and builders whose projects comeunder the disputed areas.

In line with the court verdict, the Noi-da authority has to disburse Rs 1,100crore more to the farmers, as compensa-tion. The Noida authority has decided topass on 50% of this burden to thebuilders. Besides, facing heavy financialcrunch, an extra burden of Rs 9,500 croreincluding cost of developed plots, theGreater Noida authority is already in theprocess of collecting money at the rate ofRs 2,015 per sq metre from builders andRs 1,465 per sq metre from individual res-idential plot allottees of Noida Exten-sion. An extra Rs 550 per sq metre willalso be charged from educational and in-stitutional allottees.

Noida Extension, over 3,000 hectares,comprises Sectors 1, 2, 3 and Ecotech 13.The Greater Noida authority allottedland to more than three dozen builderslike Amrapali, Supertech, Nirala, Eros,Antriksh, Earth, Ajnara, Gaursons, etc,at rates which ranged between Rs 10,000and Rs 11,600 per sq metre through opentenders. In addition, a total of 4,250 resi-dential plots were allotted through luckydraw at the rate of Rs 10,500 per sq metre.

Builders are planning to increaseprices in this area at the rate of Rs 500per sq ft, to absorb the increased burden.Chetena Sharma, a buyer at Noida Ex-tension, says: "The decision to levy an ex-tra charge will hit the property market. Itwill not be affordable for middle-classsalaried people. For the average middleclass, a house will remain a dream."

Rakesh Yadav, the managing directorof Antriksh Group, says: "Undoubtedly,property in Noida Extension, which was earlier known for its affordablerates, will now be costlier. We are boundto revise prices owing to this extra burden coupled with increasing price ofraw materials."

The uncertainty over completion of projects launched in Noida Extension is lifting, as the Greater Noida authority is planning to re-scheduledevelopmental work in and around Noida Extension. A K TIWARY writes

■ AFTER THE COURTVERDICT THAT

AWARDED 64.7%ADDITIONAL

AMOUNT AND 10%OF THE DEVELOPED

PLOT ASCOMPENSATION TO

FARMERS, NOIDAAND GREATER NOIDA

AUTHORITIES HAVEBEEN ISSUING

NOTICES TO ALL THEDEVELOPERS ANDBUILDERS WHOSE

PROJECTS COMEUNDER THE

DISPUTED AREAS

■ THE GREATERNOIDA AUTHORITY IS ALREADY IN THE

PROCESS OFCOLLECTING MONEY

AT THE RATE OF RS2,015 PER SQ METRE

FROM BUILDERS ANDRS 1,465 PER SQ

METRE FROMINDIVIDUAL

RESIDENTIAL PLOTALLOTTEES OF

NOIDA EXTENSION

QUICKBITES

Are serious buyers in realtymarket keen on ready-to-occupy flats or are they OKwith projects where they

have to wait for months or years to gettheir dream homes?

"Generally, end users hoping to buytheir first house look for ready-to-occupy apartments, as this will savethem from the rental payments oftheir current accommodation. How-ever, from an investor's point of view,ready-to-occupy flats would fetch lower returns on investment vis-a-visflats under construction, even thoughthere are far lesser risks associatedwith the first option," says Samir Jasuja, the chief executive officer of PropEquity.

"On the other hand, there are sev-eral risks associated with a new proj-ect that is under construction like de-lays, price escalations, variance fromthe planned layout, etc. But theserisks come with higher probability ofreturns on their investments, and in

several cases investors orsecond-home buyers

look for properties under construc-tion for higher returns," Jasuja says.

Devinder Gupta of DGS Realtorssays that unlike in the past, the cur-rent crop of customers is very smartand they ensure that their invest-ments are safe and productive. Thus,they make thorough checks on the re-alty firms before taking the final call.They even inspect past projects ofbuilders. While they prefer ready-to-occupy houses, they may settle evenfor those projects where work is on, ifthey are satisfied about the an-tecedents of the builder and thepromised quality and amenities ofthe project, Gupta says.

A realty-broking firm says they getmost of the inquiries from those keento move into ready-to-occupy flats."We have noticed that a majority ofthe potential customers are locals,which underlines the changing mind-set in the NCR to reside in flats whichwas a no-go area in the past," an offi-cer of the firm says.

Ravi Saund, the chief operating of-ficer of CHD Developers Ltd, howev-

er, says that the demand for propertyunder construction is far higher thanthat for ready-to-occupy apartments.Depending on the stage of construc-tion and also the response that a proj-ect has elicited from other buyers andinvestors, the rates can be lower by asmuch as 15-30%.

The ready-to-occupy apartmentsare exorbitantly priced, taking intoconsideration the budgets of the aver-age middle-class segment - and this is

the segment which continues to be In-dian real estate's primary driver. Themiddle-class segment of the emergingmarket cities is burgeoning. If figurestalk, approximately 460 million peo-ple in the emerging market cities willenter the middle class between 2012and 2015. It's a buoyant situation.

The buyer has more choices andcan opt for construction-linked plan,which has a gestation period of 2-3years. Today, developers are offering

subvention schemes where the buyerenjoys a pre-EMI holiday. Thisscheme is beneficial for customerswho stay on rent. They pay rent andno EMI and later EMI and no rent.

"I feel that the buyer in a propertyunder construction can comfortablymake some minor alterations to theinteriors. Therefore, it can make a lotof sense to invest in a property underconstruction by a credible and reput-ed developer," says Sanjay Khanna,

the director of Kailash Nath ProjectsPvt Ltd.

Sunil Jindal, the chief executive of-ficer of SVP Group, however, says: "Ican tell you from my own experiencethat more often than not, customersinvest in properties where they findsome kind of activity. If they see thatwork is on, then they invest. I have ob-served this tendency among cus-tomers in many of our projects. Sell-ing flats, floors or a plot on barrenland is not at all easy. Selling a dreamis not possible nowadays, as the me-dia keeps exposing realty firms thatcorner huge sums from people bypromising the moon."

Anuj Goel, the executive director ofKDP Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, also be-lieves that customers prefer ready-to-occupy flats. Goel says: "If it is an in-vestor, the flat yields an immediate in-come of rent from the new flat. If it isan end user, he does not have to payrent as he gets immediate possessionof the new flat and only pays EMI onhis loan. Further, investors and endusers see a developed and completedproject without any confusion on thefinal outcome of the project."

Housing sector watchers say thatconstruction activity is always unpre-dictable as the schedule always getsadversely affected because of scarcityof labourers, raw materials and government procedural delays, whicha builder has to suffer all through the construction period. Once a build-ing is complete, it is time for the customers to enjoy. Thus there is a perceived additional value for a customer to invest in ready-to-occupyflats.

Harinder Dhillon, the vice-presi-dent of Raheja Developers Ltd, says:"The primary market for new launch-es is extremely vibrant at the momentand transaction volumes are signifi-cant. Projects under construction are generating as good a response, ifnot better, than ready-to-occupyapartments."

So, the real question is what is thepurpose of purchasing a property? "Ifit is for investment then property un-der construction is generally preferred; first-home or self-use buyers go for ready-to-occupy flats,"Sanjay Khanna says.

DO CUSTOMERS PREFERREADY-TO-OCCUPY FLATS?

■ GENERALLY, END USERS HOPING TO BUY THEIR FIRST HOUSELOOK FOR READY-TO-OCCUPY APARTMENTS, AS THIS WILL SAVETHEM FROM THE RENTAL PAYMENTS OF THEIR CURRENTACCOMMODATION

■ ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE ARE SEVERAL RISKS ASSOCIATEDWITH A NEW PROJECT THAT IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION LIKEDELAYS, PRICE ESCALATIONS, VARIANCE FROM THE PLANNEDLAYOUT, ETC

QQUUIICCKKBITES

There is a debate in the realty-market circles - doserious buyers prefer ready-to-occupy flats?

VIVEK SHUKLA ascertains the position

WORK TO RESUME ATNOIDA EXTENSION

somerelief 14pg.

Builders are planning to increase prices in this area at the rate of Rs 500 per sq ft, to absorb the increased burden

A T i m e s o f I n d i a P r e s e n t a t i o n , D E L H I , A P R I L 1 4 , 2 0 1 2 T I M E S P R O P E RT Y

■ THE GREATER NOIDAAUTHORITY HAS NOWCLUBBED ITS MASTER PLAN2021 WITH THE NEWLYDRAFTED MASTER PLAN2031 AND SENT IT TO THEHOUSING AND URBANPLANNING DEPARTMENT,LUCKNOW, FOR APPROVAL

[FAST FACT]

Rajesh Mehta

Deepak Sharma