The Noida Authority on Tuesday extended the deadline for over a dozen builders to complete the pending projects here by December 31, 2021 under its ‘zero period’ policy, an official statement said.

These builders had earlier assured delivery of homes by the end of June 2021.

The decision was approved during the 199th Board Meeting of the Noida Authority in the wake of COVID-19 situation.

According to the “zero period” policy announced last December by the Uttar Pradesh government, builders will be exempted from paying penal interest on outstanding land dues for the number of years their projects were stuck.

However, the policy was applicable to those builders who were expected to provide homes by June 2021. The state government had expected one lakh new housing units to be constructed by that time.

” the developers who have given written assurance to complete their pending projects by December 31, 2021 have been given an extension till December 31, 2021 from June 30, 2021 as part of the zero period policy. Sixteen (land) allottees have been issued letters for giving written assurance regarding completing the incomplete projects by December 31, 2021,” an official press note stated.

The board also approved the annual budget of the authority, which has set a target of Rs 5,037 crore in revenue and Rs 4,640 crore budgt for expenditure for the current fiscal 2020-21.

The expenditures include expenses on land acquisition, development works, repair and maintenance of health and urban infrastructure, village development, miscellaneous expenses, among others, the statement said.

In the budget, the funds have been enhanced from Rs 600 crore to Rs 1,000 crore for land acquisition, and from Rs 106 crore to Rs 125 crore for village development, it added.

The board meeting was chaired by Alok Tandon, Commissioner of Infrastructure and Industrial Development.

Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari, Greater Noida Authority CEO Narendra Bhooshon and Yamuna Expressway Authority CEO Arun Vir Singh also attended the meeting.

Altogether 37 agendas were put forth during the meeting besides 15 proposals for board’s approval, it said.

During the meeting, the board was told that the Noida Authority had given Rs 4,591.21 crore in loan to the Greater Noida Authority and Rs 1,795.91 crore to the Yamuna Expressway Authority over a period of time.

Both the authorities have made no re-payment on those loans to the Noida Authority during the 2019-20 fiscal and the 2020-21 fiscal so far, according to the statement.

The board was told that the Noida Authority has suggested taking some mixed-use land in the areas under the Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway Authority in lieu of the pending loan.

The board has directed for state government-level deliberations to find a way so that the two authorities could settle the dues in terms of land banks or repay the money in installments, the statement said.

The board approved allocation of shops and restaurant space at the multilevel car parking in Botanical Garden, Sector 38A, on the basis of licence.

The decision has been taken after the allocation could not be made via e-auction, according to the statement.

There are 36 shops and two cafeterias at the site and rentals for these spaces would be hiked at a rate of 10 per cent annually and reviewed every two years, it stated.

The board also gave its nod to the decision of not imposing penalty on land allottees who could not get their documents executed or take over possession during the lockdown period.