Yogi Adityanath has approved the Phase 2 of the Master Plan 2031 planned by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Authority (YEIDA). As per the plan, two new townships will be developed in YEIDA which will have a separate heritage city to encourage tourism and an industrial area.

Now that the approval by the state government has been given, YEIDA has got the tittle of the largest industrial township in India which has an area of 2687 square kilometers.
In August 2015, YEIDA had decided to modify and restructure the area which came under its second part of the Master Plan 2031. A proper survey of the decide area was done with the objective of concentrating on regulated development of the 185 km stretch of Yamuna Expressway.

As per the statement by the CEO of YEIDA, smart cities will be developed out of the two urban centers with an area of more than 20000 hectares.

By the Master Plan of 2031, Phase 2 has double the area of Phase 1. The land in Phase 2 will be used for purposes including residential, industrial and institutional. Corporate spaces along with recreational green areas have also been kept reserved in the area of the master plan.

Affordable housing segment is attracting the interest of non-banking finance companies and large private equity firms as the government has offered so many incentives for this segment which includes fast approvals and infrastructure status.

Till now, the financing of affordable housing segment was done by funds from small developers who were categorically involved in affordable housing. The government has been encouraging the affordable housing segment to achieve the vision of Housing for All by 2022 and the inflow of money is an indicator of the awaiting success.

Many big firms, like Kotak Realty Fund that previously concentrated on mid-income housing projects, are now analyzing the affordable housing segment. They feel that this large market has a speedy turnaround but low margins. Builders involved with affordable housing segment also have the provision of reasonable sources of funds. And since the demand of houses in affordable housing is the highest, builders can concentrate on launching new projects in this segment.

Some investors are also of the view that a separate strategy has to be established by the private equity firms if they want to invest in affordable housing. When there is any surplus in the beginning, private equity fund can leave at periodic intervals and the builder can use financing lenders at a reasonable rate for construction when the project is in full swing.

The equity lovers are gaining confidence in the affordable housing segment and the entry of long term capital in the segment will prove to be beneficial.

The Noida Authority had recently formed enforcement squads to keep a check on the various segments of real estate projects. On Monday, these squads have started with their inspection in Noida of various brackets of land use. The squad comprising of 4 members scrutinized sectors 1-5 of the city for violations by the allottees as per the city-code.
According to the CEO of Noida Authority, the objective of the move is to encourage proper planning in the city.

This action was taken after the huge fire explosion that took place in a 4-storey building of sector 11 on 19th April. After investigation of the entire incident, they found that no clearance was received by the company from the fire department. Moreover, it had not even received the Occupancy Certificate from the Authority.

Because of such action of different squads keeping a check and control in the city, they will come to know whether the rules are being followed or not. Abidance of these rules which include building plans, layouts, building code, construction etc. will be ensured. Issuing of a show-cause notice will be done if anyone is found at fault. But, certain duration of time will be given to the defaulters to amend their mistakes.

On Monday, the same squads gave a surprised inspection visit to the industrial units in sectors 1-5. Post to the inspection, they concluded that most of the NOCs were received by the factories but were lacking the firefighting cylinders. Some cylinders were found to be empty, while some industrial units did not have their ground area vacant in situations of emergency. Some factories were even rented out without any approval from the Noida Authority.

The squad has noted down the breaking of every norm and the violations, and suitable action is most likely to be taken against these units if they fail to rectify their faults.

The Noida Authority officials are considering the idea of approaching the state government to overlook the interest that the realtors have to pay as land dues for the duration when the construction was hindered and delayed because of orders from National Green Tribunal (NGT) and land disputes by farmers, respectively.

After the NGT order was passed on 14th August, the authority was instructed to bring all the construction and development to a stop which did not have an environmental clearance. 104 real estate projects in total were impacted this order which were situated near the Okhla Bird Sanctuary. Developers asked to overlook the interest that they had to pay giving reasoning that the delay in the projects was caused due to the order by NGT.

Noida Authority will approach the state government to talk about the solutions of making builders deliver their incomplete projects. Waiving off the interest can actually benefit the builders. Noida Authority is also trying to come up with ways to resolve homebuyers’ problems who have invested their life savings.

Another option to help the builders in delivering the stuck projects is the authority’s step to collect the interest on land dues at some later time in the future. State government can provide a provision which will state that the builders have to pay the land dues only once the project is completed. But if the builder himself is not willing to complete the project, the interest will be recovered immediately by the authority.

The cost of land is paid is supposed to paid in installments to the authority. And if the builder is at default in paying the land dues, the amount increases as 11% interest is charged on the amount which is left. Therefore, if the state government decides to waive off the interest, the builders will be able to borrow funds from banks and the stuck projects can be delivered on time.

The authority cannot take the decision of waiving off the interest dues alone, the final approval from the state government is needed.

Bandaru Dattatreya, Labour Minister, has made it clear on Monday that EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organization) is not going to construct the houses for its four crore members, but is only going to expedite the process of buying homes for them.

The subscribers are going to be supported by the Labour Ministry in the coming two years by giving them the provision to utilize 90% of their EPF savings. They can use this 90% savings to make the down payment while buying houses and also, their EPF accounts can be linked to pay the EMIs of the home loan borrowed.

As far the housing is concerned, EPFO declared that it is not responsible for the construction of houses and that the subscribers are completely responsible for it.

This recent change in the EPF scheme 1952 is to support and encourage its members to buy homes. Most importantly, the scheme works towards fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vision of Housing for All by 2022.

Earlier, it was rumoured that EPFO is planning to construct 10 lakhs homes for its subscribers in the coming two years and also that the organization would get collaborated with Ministry of Urban Development for the same.

As per announcement by Labour Minister, the scheme is applicable for the subscribers whose monthly basic salary is below Rs.15000.

The government is giving the interest subsidy to few sections of the society support them in buying home, therefore all these provisions and advantages can be teamed up together.