Noida authority urges SC to relook interest cap rate for developers

Noida authorities have asked the Supreme court to recall its order and relook the interest cap rate as the builders have not to deposit a single penny to clear their dues. In June 2020, over a year after the Supreme Court had directed Noida and Greater Noida authority to cap the interest rate at about 8% for delay in payment of land value by builders instead of a steep 15-23%. Representing the authorities, Advocate Ravindra Kumar submitted before a bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Ajay Rastogi that this order was passed without considering all issues. Then the Supreme court was hearing the Amrapali case and it was evaluating ways to protect the Amrapali home buyers' interest, but, the general order passed by the court applied to all realtors developers, who were not even party in the case, he said. As the bench questioned how it is possible to recall the order after a year, against the backdrop of claims that some of the developers might have benefited, counsel submitted that after the Supreme court's June 10 order, everything has been halted. He told the bench that not a single penny has been paid in the last year. Counsel for Amrapali home buyers, Kumar Mihir, said that this problem is affecting all the home buyers of Noida and Greater Noida who are waiting for registration of their title deeds. Amid the pandemic, the top court in its June last year order had cited the current status of real estate, the projects at a halt, and the requirement to give impetus to such housing projects. Image Source