GHAZIABAD: There is finally a ray of light for around 3,000 allottees who have waited patiently for over a decade for their plots in the Wave City project on NH 9.
The GDA board is likely to approve the detailed project report for Wave City’s 4,000 acres of land in its meeting on August 5. It has been rejected several times since 2021 due to non-payment of the land conversion cost of Rs 401 crore.
Once approved, real estate agent Utpal Chadha Hi-Tech Developers Pvt Ltd may take another six months to develop the land and hand it over to the allottees. This will also pave the way for 5,000 other allottees who have already had possession of their plots to get their properties registered.
Prabhakar Mishra, an allottee who is waiting for the registration of his plot, told The Times of India that he had invested in the scheme in 2009 when it was launched. “Imagine investing your hard-earned money in a dream home but not being able to build it. Our plots have been stuck for 15 years as the properties could not be registered. It took over a decade for the government to pay heed to our problems. We are hoping that the GDA will not delay the project further and give its approval to the layout to pave the way for the registration of hundreds of allottees in the township,” he said.
Wave Group launched the township project with tech-integrated homes and vast green areas under the state’s hi-tech township policy in 2009-10. The developer was supposed to develop 4,312 acres of land for the project in a stipulated period but failed to acquire the land due to opposition from farmers.
A Wave Group spokesperson said, “A portion of the land we had to acquire fell in the ‘Lal Dora’ extension area. Hence, we failed to acquire the entire land earmarked for the scheme. Subsequently, the project size was reduced to 4,196 acres, for which we submitted a revised DPR to the GDA for approval.”
Historically, the Lal Dora boundaries were established in 1908 during British rule, marking areas outside formal settlements for agricultural purposes. These lands are exempt from regular building bylaws and municipal regulations, but their owners often face challenges in proving ownership, hindering property transactions and access to financial services.
The developer claims that 50% of the 4,196 acres of land has been developed and plots have been handed over to around 5,000 families. “The remaining portion is yet to be developed for which we have submitted several DPRs but have not received approval yet, it is stuck following certain objections raised by the CAG. This has affected around 3,000 allottees who had invested in the project,” the spokesperson said.
The project was stalled since 2017 after a CAG audit revealed non-recovery of about Rs 401 crore as land conversion charges from the developer.
Things started to change after a high-level committee headed by the chief secretary was set up in 2023 to examine the project. In February this year, the committee said that “the interest of homebuyers is paramount” and directed the GDA to approve the revised DPR of the project. However, to get the DPR approved, Wave Group will have to mortgage land and other assets worth around Rs 400 crore with the GDA.
“The DPR of the Wave City project will be approved in the GDA board meeting on August 5, following which around 5,000 allottees will be able to get the registration of their plots, and another 3,000 are expected to get possession,” a GDA official said.