Ghaziabad filed an FIR over RKS Buildcon handing flats without a certificate

The Ghaziabad Development Authority filed an FIR against developer RKS Buildcon India for handing over possession without a completion certificate (CC), violating the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 - a provision authorities rarely prosecute. It came after the Allahabad High Court on September 16 appointed a commissioner to survey Gulmohar Greens in Mohan Nagar, where residents said possession had been handed over before the project received its CC, in violation of the UP Apartment Act, 2010; the bench pulled up the state and GDA, calling the practice a 'flagrant violation'.

RKS, which built Heritage Tower in Noornagar, was already in default on Rs 4.3 crore of compounding fee and labour cess. GDA let it pay Rs 4.02 crore and Rs 2.32 lakh respectively on May 18, 2025, then told it to clear the rest via the state's one-time settlement scheme by July 17, 2026. The developer neither deposited the money nor explained the delay - and instead proceeded to give possession without a CC. A GDA site inspection also found units sold for commercial use. RKS Buildcon did not respond to Times of India queries.

The scale of the practice is what makes the FIR a landmark: till August 2026, GDA approved 2,968 maps but issued just 292 CCs. UP-Rera's chairperson said possession without a CC is 'widespread', with buyers often pressuring developers to hand over ready apartments early. Developers counter that CCs stall over a stack of NOCs - fire, lift, pollution, environment, airport, structural. GDA officials say a report is being prepared and over 100 developers may face similar FIRs.

An FIR under the UP Urban Planning and Development Act; Rs 4.3 crore in unpaid compounding and labour-cess dues; 100-plus developers may face similar FIRs.

Possession without a completion certificate is illegal under the 1973 Act, and the High Court had just labelled the practice a 'flagrant violation'.

RKS had already blown through a one-time-settlement deadline on Rs 4.3 crore of compounding and labour-cess dues, offering no explanation.

A GDA site inspection added another violation: units sold for commercial use inside a residential project.

With 2,968 maps approved against only 292 CCs issued, GDA needed a test case, and RKS combined every violation in one file.

Handing over homes before the paperwork clears trades a regulatory risk for an existential one - once the courts take an interest, one developer becomes the case file for an entire region.

GDA says it is preparing a report and that 'in days to come, over 100 FIRs will be lodged against erring developers'. The High Court has ordered the personal appearance of the principal secretary (housing and town planning) and GDA vice-chairperson Nand Kishore Kalal. In Noida, by comparison, 45 of 116 projects have received full completion certificates.