1,000 homebuyers stage protest, stopped from taking out march

Around 1,000 Noida homebuyers staged a silent protest against the Noida Authority and the UP government at Sector 18 on Monday, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival in Noida for inauguration of the Magenta Metro rail link.

The homebuyers, who are yet to get the possession of their flats in projects such as Jaypee Wish Town Noida, Amrapali, Supertech, and Unitech, gathered near Sector 18 Metro station, from where they were to march towards the Botanical Garden Metro station and the Amity University in Sector 125. They were, however, stopped by the police at the Sector 18 Metro station. 

Some people still managed to reach the Amity ground in bits and pieces. "We have reached out to all officials and the state government but nothing has been done. So, we planned to communicate our plight to PM Modi. We were stopped by the police, which is a shame for us. As citizens, we cannot make our voices heard," said Shweta Bharti, General Secretary of the Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (NEFOWA).

Meanwhile, on Saturday, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had met the distressed homebuyers and pulled up the Noida Authority for lapses in handling of the matter. Adityanath had directed officials to hand over 40,000 flats by December 31, while another 40,000 have to be handed over by March.

The UP CM also asked the Noida Authority to draw up a list of defaulter builders, categorising them as per their position — those who will be able to deliver the flats on time, those who would need help of co-developers to finish their projects, and those who won't be able to complete their projects at all.

The irked homebuyers, however, termed Adityanath's promise of delivery of 80,000 homes in Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Expressway areas by March-end an "eyewash" and demanded that the government come up with an action plan for projects.

"We want the PM to intervene. The co-developer policy should be implemented. The units that have been delivered in Noida or are about to be delivered do not have the occupancy or completion certificates," Bharti said.

The protesters pointed out that despite several assurances and various announcements, nothing much has changed on the ground. It was also pointed out that despite a committee being set up to resolve the homebuyers' issues, nothing has happened.

Some other buyers alleged that even the much-touted RERA did not bring them any relief. "The Central government-notified RERA should be implemented in letter and in spirit, and no dilution should be done by the state government," they said.

According to members of the association, during the UP elections, the BJP candidates had promised flat buyers of GB Nagar that they would be given all possible support in securing possession of the homes. But after the BJP victory, the politicians forgot about the homebuyers, the protesters alleged.

As many as 94 projects in Noida and nearly 190 projects in Greater Noida are stuck due to financial reasons. In a high-level meeting held in September this year, UP CM had ordered the officials to ensure that 50,000 homebuyers got their homes in Noida and Greater Noida.

On December 4, a ministerial panel, during the course of a meeting with builders and officials of the Noida Authority, Greater Noida Authority, and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), had declared that 32,500 flats would be delivered by the end of this month.