Govt may provide stamp duty relief to those ‘cheated’ by builders

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government is working on a proposal that provides for allowing those homebuyers, whose flat registry got delayed due to builders, to pay stamp duty at old rates.

A proposal in this regard could be tabled for approval of the state cabinet soon, officials said.

The government also plans to hold a function to hand over possession of few thousand flats to harassed buyers who were allegedly being cheated by the builders and for whose help chief minister Yogi Adityanath had set up a three-member committee of ministers, senior officials privy to the development said.

The committee comprising urban development minister Suresh Khanna, industry minister Satish Mahana and minister of state for industry and sugar mills Suresh Rana, had held multiple meetings with buyers and builders, especially in Noida and Greater Noida.

The panel had also directed the Greater Noida authority to file FIR against errant builders, who were not delivering flats as per the promises they had made to the buyers.

When contacted, both Mahana and Rana refused to divulge the kind of relief that the government plans to extend to the buyers. But, they admitted that several steps were in the offing.

On September 12, the chief minister’s office had directed the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to deliver around 50,000 flats by the end of December 2017 but many homebuyers complained that the promised possession didn’t happen.

“Did you ever see any state government in the last 15 years in UP setting up a committee of ministers to help homebuyers? I know people still have issues but please understand it’s tough handling the legacy of the past. However, our commitment will be visible through a series of steps our government plans to take,” said Rana.

Mahana admitted that the UP government was in touch with the centre and, together, the two governments were acting in coordination to identify ‘unscrupulous’ builders while ensuring that the common man got possession of his flat.

“Our government is aware of the emotions people associate with a flat and how they invest their life’s savings in it. The sincerity of our commitment will soon be there for all to see,” said Mahana. The function to hand over possession to several thousand buyers who had lost all hope, at a special camp is aimed at communicating to the homebuyers how the government moves have started showing results, officials said. A senior official said a proposal was being worked out to identify how long was the possession to buyers delayed by the builder.

“Let’s say the buyer paid up his instalment in 2006-7 but the registry got stuck due to delays by the builder. In that case the government plans to help the buyer by allowing him to make payment of stamp duty on the basis of old circle rates rather than present one. This would provide him substantial relief. But this is just one of the many steps the government has in mind,” say officials.

A bank employee, who has only recently got possession of his flat in Greater Noida, said there were different ways in which buyers are cheated or fleeced.

“Many builders don’t take completion certificate simply because they haven’t paid their dues to the Noida Authority. Buyers thus end up getting penalised. Then there are builders who levy heavy penalties on buyers for delayed payment without bothering to make similar payments for delayed possessions,” a homebuyer who has only just got possession after years of running around said.