Govt to restrict transfer of apartment ownerships of 19 developers
KATHMANDU, Nov 11:
Following the disclosure about widespread anomalies in the housing industry, the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) is preparing to instruct all land revenue offices (LROs) of the Kathmandu Valley not to transfer ownership of housing and apartment of 19 developers to their respective customers.
“We are soon issuing a strong worded instruction to all LROs, as our inspection showed these 19 developers have flouted both the environment as well as housing laws,” said a senior official at the DUDBC.
The move of the department, which is aimed at compelling the developers to comply with the existing laws, will, however, hit the customers, as they have already made full or partial payments to the developers.
People, who relied on big name developers like Kohinoor Hill Housing, Ansal Chaudhary Developers, Trimohan Housing, Platinum Developers and Oriental Builders, among others, will be the hardest hit.
“We have already asked these developers to stop construction and are further writing to the LROs to restrict the transfer of their apartments´ ownership to the customers so as to avoid the risks and prevent the customers from being cheated,” said the source.
The department is preparing to land axe on over one-and-a-half dozen apartments after its inspection of 85 housing and apartment projects showed that they had violated crucial rules and norms.
The inspection report unearthed by Republica shows, of the 19 guilty developers, 13 had not acquired approval from the Ministry of Environment, something which is mandatory as per the Environment Protection Act, as they never carried out the much-needed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Initial Environment Examination (IEE).
The government had made EIA and IEE mandatory for housing projects from fiscal year 2005/06.
Likewise, these 13 developers had also opened booking of their apartments and even initiated constructions without obtaining structural permits from DUDBC, something which is considered crucial and made mandatory by the Building Act.
As for the remaining six developers, the department is preparing to stop their transactions mainly because they cold shouldered its call and refused to disclose documents.
Under the procedures laid down by the existing laws, a housing developer first need to obtain planning permit from concerned Town Development Committee, then obtain EIA and IEE clearance from Environment Ministry, get Structural Permit from DUDBC and approval of map of the project from concerned local bodies before starting construction.
However, the housing companies largely skipped these processes, ignoring the environment clearance and structural permit from DUDBC, as banks in the past few years rushed to invest in the sector without bothering to check whether the developers complied with the law.
"The widespread violation of law by the developers has surprised us all. We will take stringent action against them and will also monitor the housing being developed in cities outside the Valley as well," said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works.
Housing projects violating rules
1. Vegas City, Imadol
2. Pashupati Apartment, Maharajgunj
3. Khushi Apartment, Samakhushi,
4. Down Town Apartment, Dhapakhel
5. Sunshine Mount View Apartment, Bhaisepati
6. Classic Tower Apartment, Satdobati
7. Mero City Apartment, Harishiddi
8. Sunshine Apartment, Sukedhara
9. Soaltee City Apartment, Ravi Bhawan
10. Mount View Apartment, Harishiddi
11. Central Park Apartment, Bishal Nagar
12. Mahabir Apartment, Thapathali
13. Surya Apartment, Battisputali
14. Regency Apartment, Babar Mahal
15. Arcedia Apartment, Dhumbarahi
16. Chakrapath Height Apartment, Dhapasi
17. Chhauni Apartment, Chhauni
18. G N Apartment, Gwarko
19. Silver City Luxurious Apartment, Kalikasthan
Source: Republica
