8,650 units worth Rs 5,620 crore stuck in Chennai

Chennai developers are way ahead of their counterparts in six major cities when it comes to professionalism as the city has least project delays for units launched either in 2013 or before, according to a report.As per the study, the city has 8,650 units worth Rs 5,620 crore which was either launched in 2013 or before being stuck till now. Despite the setting up of a regulatory mechanism, countless home buyers have been left in the lurch by their builders. Sadly, most of these stuck projects do not fall within the Real Estate Regulatory Authority ambit as they were launched years before the authority took effect, the study states. The report blames tightening credit crunch as one major factor contributing to this mounting problem.  As one of the possible solutions out of this mess, the report suggests government-owned National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) could be roped in to complete 50 per cent of overall stalled projects. Additionally, with the government-owned NBCC undertaking construction, banks’ apprehensions would ease. Most stalled projects have considerable monetisable assets in the form of land banks and floor space index, which NBCC can use to cover some of the construction costs, the report states. Delayed projects have severely weakened faith in under-construction properties and reviving buyers’ trust is an Herculean task.