Relief for homebuyers; UP govt to file FIRs against builders for non-registration of flats

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to file FIRs against builders who have given possession of flats to buyers without registration that has resulted in revenue loss to the state exchequer besides causing distress to customers. There have been many cases where real estate developers have handed over apartments to buyers without registry particularly in cities like Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad that are part of the National Capital Region.

In Gautam Buddha Nagar district alone, nearly 16,200 units have been allocated to buyers without proper registration. "We were getting a number of complaints that even after taking the money, the builders were not doing registry. We have got a letter in this regard from District Magistrate, Noida and after its review we found the customers were befooled as they could not get their properties registered," UP Stamp and Registration minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi told PTI.

He was responding to a query whether the government was planning to register FIRs against the errant builders for not getting registry of the properties done. The government is also suffering from loss of revenue due to non-registration of properties, Gupta said. "We will be initiating strict action against such builders. The government has had to forego revenue of nearly Rs 475 crore alone in Gautam Buddha Nagar", he said.

Meanwhile, in a statement, a senior official of the department said the government was apprised of the fact that in Gautam Buddha Nagar itself, 16,197 flats have been allocated to buyers without proper registration.

The builders were issued notices regarding this, but they failed to initiate the process of registration, according to a statement. The government has been receiving complaints from buyers regarding the builders' resistance to the registration of flats too.

A revenue target of Rs 2,522 crore has been earmarked for the Gautam Buddha Nagar locality for the financial year 2017-2018, of which Rs 1,394.23 crore has been recovered so far.

"Based on the complaints that builders had failed to register flats, the DM, Gautam Buddha Nagar had initiated an inquiry and recommended that FIRs should be filed against the builders," the statement added.

This is not the first time. Earlier too, stamp duty department officials in Greater Noida had been directed to file cases against builders.