The district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar BN Singh warned both builders and homebuyers to either register their flats before March this year or pay a heavy penalty.
The DM’s directive — meant to stem the loss of vital stamp revenue for the government — came during a meeting held yesterday at the district collectorate office in Surajpur, Greater Noida.
Builders and officials of the district stamp department were present at the meeting.
An official of the stamp department said, “The district administration is miffed with builders for offering possession of flats before registry. Officials said living in flats without registry is illegal, and the government is losing out on nearly Rs 334.13 crore in stamp fee.”
He added, “There are seven builders who offered possession of flats without registry. They include Amrapali Group, Divine India Pvt Ltd, Assotech Celeste Towers in Noida Sector 44, Victory Crossroad in Noida Sector 143, Man Realty Private Limited, Ajnara Homes Group and Gardenia Glory.”
Singh said, “According to data we have, 10,318 flats in Noida and Greater Noida have been handed over without possession. We called in more than 15 builders for a meeting at the district headquarters and told them to either get the registry done or face action.”
He also ordered officials of the stamp department to issue notices to all builders within a week, and register FIRs against errant builders under Section 64C of the Stamp Act. It invites a jail term of three months and a penalty of Rs 10,000.
"The district administration will first act against the builders and then against homebuyers,” an official said.
The DM also directed the officers of the stamp department to inspect the buildings that have been given occupancy and completion certificates by the authorities. If any buyers were found living without the execution of registry, action would be initiated against the builders, confirmed the official.
