Delhi NCR - Builders to complete projects before handing over possession in Ghaziabad
The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has directed all builders and developers in the city to refrain from handing over possession of housing and commercial units without obtaining ‘completion certificates’ of projects. The directions have been issued after detection of increasing number of cases where buyers had moved into premises of under-construction projects that did not have completion certificates. Officials at the GDA said that due to lack of proper civic amenities within and around such under-construction projects, several occupants who have already moved in have been making rounds of the development authority’s office complaining about lack of basic provisions like water supply, streetlights, etc.
The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has directed all builders and developers in the city to refrain from handing over possession of housing and commercial units without obtaining ‘completion certificates’ of projects. The directions have been issued after detection of increasing number of cases where buyers had moved into premises of under-construction projects that did not have completion certificates. Officials at the GDA said that due to lack of proper civic amenities within and around such under-construction projects, several occupants who have already moved in have been making rounds of the development authority’s office complaining about lack of basic provisions like water supply, streetlights, etc.
GDA officials say that punitive action might be taken against developers who have been resorting to the practice of handing over possession of properties even though it is mandatory to obtain ‘completion certificates’ under the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973. “Immediately upon completion of a project, the concerned developer should apply for obtaining a completion certificate. Allottees should be handed over possession of properties and encouraged to move in only after the project is certified as complete by the authority,” said RK Singh, secretary of GDA.
Section 15-A of the urban planning and development Act, besides making it mandatory upon developers to obtain certificates of completion from the development authority, also prohibits allottees in projects from occupying any portion of it until the project has been certified by the authority to have been completed as per plan.
GDA has also appealed to buyers to ensure that the projects they move into have obtained the necessary ‘completion certificates’ so that any kind of inconveniences or accidents, caused due to non-completion of works, are avoided in the future. Through a notice, the GDA has distanced itself away from any onus likely to be placed upon it for any untoward incident reported to have occurred due to occupancy in under-construction projects.
“Allottees in projects of private developers should insist upon completion certificates before taking possession of properties. Developers would be forced to obtain these certificates if buyers put up the pressure for it,” added Singh.
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