Residential projects to be inspected mid-construction

Officials of the Yamuna expressway and Greater Noida authorities on Friday said that they have decided to conduct inspections at under-construction residential projects to ensure that developers do not deviate from the sanctioned building plans.

Officials of the Yamuna expressway and Greater Noida authorities on Friday said that they have decided to conduct inspections at under-construction residential projects to ensure that developers do not deviate from the sanctioned building plans.

As of now, authorities conduct inspections only once the construction is completed (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

As per the existing practice, authorities conduct inspections only after a building’s construction is completed. The decision to conduct inspections and undertake detailed monitoring comes after complaints by homebuyers that many builders alter sanctioned building layout plans and they end up with housing units different than the ones they paid for.

“I have formed a four-member monitoring committee headed by the additional chief executive officer (ACEO). The committee will periodically conduct inspections at construction sites. The ACEO will monitor to verify whether the developer is adhering to the sanctioned plans or not,” said Arun Vir Singh, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Yamuna expressway industrial development authority (Yeida).

The committee will also include Yeida general manager (planning), general manager (project) and officer on special duty (OSD) with the ACEO as the chairman.

The Greater Noida authority too has constituted two committees that have been asked to conduct inspections at construction sites once in 15 days. The two committees, with three members each, comprise officials from project and planning departments of the authority.

“The two committees submit their status report to senior officials, including the authority’s additional chief executive officer (ACEO) and the chief executive officer (CEO), after detailed inspection. If we find that a developer is about to deviate from the sanctioned building layout, we will issue a notice directing for immediate correction,” said Deepak Agarwal, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Greater Noida authority.

According to homebuyers, many developers change the flat size during construction, reducing green space and altering the size of many other common facilities in a group housing building.

“In most cases, a buyer who has invested his savings in buying a housing unit of his choice comes to know about the change in building plan when the building is at the possession stage. At this stage, the local authority addressing a complaint asks the buyer to compromise and bear with the developer’s fault. I hope these inspections and monitoring will help buyers,” said Anurag Goswami, a homebuyer.