Developers have assured homebuyer in the Shahberi projects that a full refund of their money,including interest (between 8% and 12%),would be made in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment earlier this month.
The Greater Noida Authority and developers are working to find a solution to the problems buyers of flats and villas are facing in the Noida Extension following the Supreme Courts judgment.Earlier this month,the apex court upheld the Allahabad high courts verdict of annulling land acquisition in the Shahberi village by the authority.
Almost all builders,whose projects have got affected because of the judgment,said buyers wanting their money back would be refunded the entire amount with interest.The builders have also offered to shift these buyers to other projects being launched by them in the area,if they so desire.In order to shift the allotment to a similar-sized flat,so that the buyers need not pay extra amount for bigger flats in the new locations,developers like Supertech and Amrapali are replicating the same type of towers in the new locations with identical orientation.Buyers are being offered flats at the same position in the new location to avoid any dissatisfaction.
Out of the 6,500 apartments that are affected because of the court order,over 5,500 were being built by Amrapali and Supertech.In the case of other developers,only a portion of their projects falls in Shahberi.Therefore,the flats that fall in the Shahberi village are being shifted to new locations in the same project.
At the same time,the Greater Noida Authority is also trying to ensure that the buyers interests are fully protected.Rama Raman,the CEO of Greater Noida Authority,said that all the developers assured him that they would return the money to their buyers in the affected area,with interest,if their customers dont wish to own flats in the project.In its judgment,the Supreme Court also directed the developers to return the money with interest.
The court in its judgment had said,It is made clear that those who have paid money to the builders for booking flats,etc,shall be entitled to get back the amount along with interest at an appropriate rate and if the builders refuse to repay the amount,then they shall be free to avail appropriate legal remedy.
Raman says the authority has expedited the refund of money to the builders that they paid for the land in Shahberi village.As the plots given to builders fall in various villages,it is the authoritys responsibility to identify and demarcate the portion of land in a plot that falls in Shahberi.The process,he said,may take a couple of weeks.
On the issue of rate of interest that the developers should pay to the buyers,Raman said that though the Supreme Court has not fixed the rate,it should be equal to the banks rate on home loan.But developers have decided to pay interest between 8% and 12% depending on their cost of borrowing.However,in most of the cases,developers had not raised any demand after the booking amount.Therefore,no bank loans were taken by the buyers in Shahberi village.
Amrapali is returning even the service charge that a buyer had paid while buying the flat.Anil Sharma,the CMD of Amrapali Buildtech,said his company had in fact started returning money to customers seeking a refund.He,however,said that over 90% of his customers wanted to shift their apartments to the groups other projects not affected by the Shahberi judgment.
Sharma said his company had decided to pay interest at the rate at which buyers had borrowed from banks.If they had paid from their savings,he said the company would give interest at 12% per annum.Amrapali was the builder behind Smart Home,one of the biggest projects hit by the Shahberi verdict.The group is constructing around half a dozen projects in the area commonly known as Noida Extension.
Another group,Supertech,whose project Eco Village II was in Shahberi,has made a similar offer to its clients.R K Arora,the group CMD,said,We have offered to return the money with interest. At the same time,the company is offering to shift its buyers to Eco Village I or Eco Village III.
Mahagun,another prominent builder affected by the verdict,has also offered to return the entire amount,with interest,to customers who do not want to shift to other projects in the area.A part of the companys villa project,Myra,falls in Shahberi.Dhiraj Jain,the Mahagun CMD,said builders in the area will ensure that their customers do not lose money because of the judgment.He,however,further added that developers were not responsible for the fiasco.He said that the company is yet to decide on the rate of interest,but it would not be less that 8%.
Gulshan Nagpal,the CMD of Gulshan Homz,has also offered to return money with appropriate interest to clients who booked flats that fall on Shahberi land.
The builders clarified that the refund offer was open only to buyers whose projects were in Shahberi village,where the Noida authority had allotted land to builders without completing the acquisition process.Customers seeking refund in projects outside the village will have to follow the normal procedure in which a part of the money is deducted and no interest is paid,they said.
Another builder,Panchasheel,part of whose project was in Shahberi,also said it will refund the entire amount paid by clients whose apartments face cancellation because of the judgment.Ashok Choudhary,the CMD of Panchasheel,said most buyers have expressed a desire to shift their apartments to the groups projects unaffected by the order as the prices in the area are very attractive.He said that the company will refund money,if a buyer so desires,at around 9%.Despite the fact that the affected builders are not at fault,they have decided to bear the losses and return the full money at appropriate
interest rates to customers the MD of Gaursons and spokesman of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) for western UP region.However,Gaur said they are yet to get a clear instruction from the Greater Noida Authority on the portions of land that come under Shahberi village,which would take at least two weeks to determine.Developers would then send formal letters to the buyers giving them a choice between refund or a shift to other group projects in the area.For those wanting their money back,the refund would include interest for the complete period.
