Ghaziabad: RKS Buildcon India, a real estate developer, was named in an FIR filed by Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) for not having a completion certificate (CC), a power authorities rarely use despite frequent violations in the real estate sector across NCR.Officials said the FIR has been lodged for violation of UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, and more than 100 developers may face similar FIRs. Under the Act, possession of units cannot be handed to homebuyers without a CC.The move comes after Allahabad high court on Sept 16 appointed an advocate commissioner to physically survey Gulmohar Greens, a residential society in Mohan Nagar, after residents claimed the developer had handed over possession of flats before the project was issued a completion certificate, in violation of the Uttar Pradesh Apartment (Promotion of Construction, Ownership and Maintenance) Act, 2010. The high court pulled up state govt and GDA for allowing buyers at Gulmohar Greens to take possession of flats without a CC, calling the practice a “flagrant violation” of the law.A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Chauhan and Saral Srivastava also ordered the personal appearance of principal secretary (housing and town planning) and GDA vice-chairperson Nand Kishore Kalal.RKS Buildcon, which built Heritage Tower in Noornagar, has also failed to clear Rs 4.3 crore in compounding fee and labour cess dues. GDA officials said it had allowed the developer to pay Rs 4.02 crore in compounding and a further Rs 2.32 lakh as labour cess on May 18 last year after the developer carried out extra construction in the project. The amount was to be deposited within 15 days.“GDA asked the developer to avail UP govt’s one-time settlement scheme and clear the dues by July 17, 2026, but the developer not only failed to deposit the dues but also did not come up with any explanation sought by GDA. Instead, the developer proceeded with giving possession without CC,” a GDA official said. A subsequent site inspection by GDA also found that units had been sold for commercial use apart from residential units.In Ghaziabad, GDA till Aug 2026 approved 2,968 maps, but issued just 292 CCs. Officials said several privately developed housing societies and townships across NCR do not have a CC either because of pending dues, violations of the original building plan or parts of a project or its amenities being incomplete, but have handed over possession of flats.“Now GDA is preparing a report on it and, in days to come, over 100 FIRs will be lodged against erring developers,” said the official.Developers said CCs are often held up over missing NOCs even when projects are technically ready. “There are half a dozen NOCs, including fire, lift, pollution, environment, airport, and IIT structural report, which are required apart from no-dues certificate and other formalities as well. Failure on the part of the developer to produce even one of these NOCs results in holding up of CC, and if possession is not given, the end sufferers are homebuyers,” Rudra Buildwell Pvt Limited director Mukesh Khurana said.UP-Rera chairperson Sanjay Bhoosreddy said possession without a CC was widespread. “Developers cannot issue any letters of possession without first obtaining a valid completion certificate or Occupancy Certificate from the competent development authority. This is the rule. But in a good majority of projects, possessions have been given without CC,” he said.“But often developers and homebuyers enter into a sort of agreement to take possession and, in many cases, the latter even pressure developers because, for them, if a project is ready to be inhabited with amenities, they don’t want to wait for a CC. In such a case, there is nothing we can do until we come across any complaint,” he said.RKS Buildcon did not respond to TOI’s queries.45 projects have CCs in NoidaNoida Authority officials said 45 of 116 projects have received full completion certificates, while nearly 50 others have been granted partial completion certificates so far.
