The model code of conduct for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, which is already in place in Gautam Budh Nagar that goes to polls in the first phase on April 11, has further delayed the delivery of around 50,000 ready flats in Noida and Greater Noida.
The model code came into effect on March 11 and the electricity department is unable to take a call on change of a rule that prohibits issuance of electricity connections to group housing towers.
Under the prevailing rule, electricity connections can be issued to individual flat owners instead of the builder that owns an apartment complex.
On August 10, 2018, the UP government had issued a notification directing the electricity department to provide individual connections to apartment owners instead of the practice of one connection to the builder which further supplies power to the flat owners at exorbitant rates.
The builders have filed a plea before the Allahabad high court seeking a change in August 10, 2018, order on the grounds that in already built housing complexes, the new order cannot be implemented.
“The high court is likely to hear our case soon. Apart from that, we have also met top officials of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited in Lucknow and Meerut, requesting them to modify the August 10, 2018 order. We demand that the order be made applicable only to housing complexes that are yet to be constructed. Owing to this order, over 50,000 apartments have not been handed over. The model code of conduct will further delay the delivery to buyers,” Prashant Tiwari, president, (western Uttar Pradesh wing) of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India’s (CREDAI), a builders lobbying group, said.
CREDAI has decided to meet UP power minister Shrikant Sharma seeking his intervention in the issue. According to CREDAI, there are around 40 housing projects, which are ready for possession in Noida and Greater Noida. These projects include Civitech Stadia and Mahagun’s Mirabella in Noida’s Sector 79, Aims Gardenia in Sector 75 and Arihant in Greater Noida’s Sector 1, among others.
“Over 50,000 flats in these 40 apartment complexes are ready for possession. But buyers are unable to shift there because the electricity department cannot give connections under the prevailing rule. The model code of conduct will further affect the process. We hope that the government looks into it and takes a decision,” Subodh Goyal, secretary, CREDAI (Western UP unit), said.
The UP government is likely to take a decision on builders’ demand after the elections.
“We have sent a detailed report about the technical issues that affect individual electricity connection in already built housing societies, to the state government. The state government will take a decision on this issue probably after elections,” Rakesh Kumar Rana, chief engineer. Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited in Noida, said.
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First Published: Mar 15, 2019 11:58 IST
