Stalled WTC project to be given to allottees’ body for completion

Ahmedabad: In a first-of-its-kind move in Gujarat, a committee headed by the chief secretary has decided to hand over a stalled real estate project to the association of allottees for completion. The decision pertains to the World Trade Center (WTC) in GIFT City, where Towers B and C remained incomplete after the project's original promoter was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a fraud case, sources said. A group of allottees of Tower B are in the process of forming an association while members of Tower C have already formed one and are in the process of registering a society, according to sources.
The handover mechanism will depend on whether the allottees agree to raise funds and appoint contractors to complete the construction. If they do, GIFT City is expected to revive the project lease, which currently stands cancelled. A new promoter name will also be added to the project's registration certificate with Gujarat Real Estate Regulatory Authority (GujRERA), sources said.The move follows a reference by GujRERA to the state govt under Section 8 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, seeking a decision on how the pending work on the two towers should be completed after lapsed timelines. A meeting was held last Sep where then chief secretary Pankaj Joshi, GujRERA chairperson Anita Karwal, urban development principal secretary M Thennarasan, GIFT City MD and CEO Sanjay Kaul and others discussed the matter, and a decision was taken a few days ago, sources said. The project was launched by WTC Noida Development Company Pvt Ltd and includes Towers A, B, C and D. Towers A, B and D, along with Tower C, are registered with GujRERA as ongoing projects. Towers A and D are complete and GIFT City authorities have issued Part Occupation Certificates. Progress on Towers B and C, however, is uneven. According to the last RERA filings made in March 2024, 79% of the work on Tower B (G+28) is complete while Tower C was shown as only 29% complete. Sources said that the G+10 RCC work for Tower C is complete but has not been uploaded on the RERA portal by the developer. Allottees sent around 90 complaints to GujRERA seeking possession of their units; 42 of these were related to Tower C.A senior state govt official said, "We had discussed about the RERA Act's Section 8 about the obligation of authority consequent upon lapse of or on revocation of registration. According to the project registration certificate, the end dates of both projects have lapsed leading to their registrations being cancelled. In such a situation, to resume work and to ensure that allottees get possession of their units, a decision from a competent authority is needed. The committee has decided to work as per Section 8. The work will be completed by the association of allottees, with the state govt helping the other group to form the association. Also, GujRERA, GIFT City and urban development and urban housing department will work together to ensure the project is completed. In case the association of allottees refuses to take up the task, other options will be explored." Officials see the decision as a route to secure possession for buyers, while keeping regulatory agencies and GIFT City authorities involved in monitoring and coordination.