Freeze on NOC hits builders, buyers

Bangalore: Builders and city residents aspiring to own a home are in a fix as many major residential projects are stuck or delayed in the city after the BWSSB stopped issuing No Objection Certificate (NOC) for projects in the BBMP limits.

Though there is no official announcement in this regard, the BWSSB has withheld NOC for many projects in the BBMP area.

An NOC from the BWSSB is a mandatory prerequisite for starting construction. Many real estate developers in the city confirmed that the BWSSB has not been issuing NOC and this has affected several projects across the city.

However, most of them wished not to be named, due to ‘possible trouble’ in getting NOC from BWSSB for their future projects.

“The issue of pending NOC is affecting not only home buyers and developers but the growth of the city as a whole. Many projects have been halted and this is not a good sign for a city like Bangalore, which is growing rapidly," said a member of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI).

“Is it not the responsibility of the government, BWSSB in particular, to ensure water for the city? Everybody knows that the groundwater table is going down and if the BWSSB does not supply enough water to the entire BBMP jurisdiction, where are people - developers, builders or residents - supposed to get water from?,” a builder who has developed on many projects in the city earlier, said on the condition of anonymity.

“Will the BWSSB not issue NOC till water is ensured for all projects? That might mean no construction in the city for many years to come till the BWSSB itself supplies more water. Will people not need houses to live in till then? The idea of withholding NOC is regressive,” said another developer, who has completed many projects and is currently working on two new ones.

“Before the BWSSB says more on the NOC issues, I would like to ask them one question: What happened to the projects that were given NOC by the BWSSB citing that water would be provided to them under the new Cauvery project? Many of those projects have been completed and have people living in those apartments, but the BWSSB has failed to provide water to them. How about this huge failure on their part?” said a builder who has a project in Mahadevapura, which has not received water from BWSSB, while another one is awaiting BWSSB’s NOC.

While developers are fretting over NOC, Bangaloreans who have been planning to buy apartments are worried about projects being shelved or delayed.

“I was in talks with a builder for an apartment in his upcoming project near Yelahanka. Now the builder is dilly dallying. I have heard that he is not getting NOC. My plans, meanwhile, are on a hold while the family and financial pressures for buying an apartment is mounting by the day” said Sahas Gokhale, a software engineer and resident of Hebbal.