Environment clearance for Unitech’s Noida projects this week

Unitech is set to receive environmental clearance for its projects in Noida's Sectors 96, 97, and 98 soon, sources have told Business Today TV, adding the clearance is expected as early as this Thursday.

The source further added that the final clearance, known as the Consent to Establish (CTE), is expected in another two to three weeks from the UP State Pollution Control Board. After that, construction will begin. The CTE is a legal requirement that real estate projects must obtain before construction can start.

"We hope to begin construction in Sector 96 in September," the source added. The completion of Unitech’s Noida-based projects will provide relief to more than 6,000 homebuyers who have been waiting for over a decade for their homes.

In Noida, Unitech has about 471 acres of land for its three major projects. This includes 343 acres in Sectors 96, 97, and 98, although plans have only been approved for 166 acres by the Noida Authority in the first phase. In Sector 113, Unitech was allotted 53.53 acres, of which about 34 acres have been handed over by Noida. However, the approval of building plans for around 9 acres has been withheld by the Authority for now.

Under the new management led by retired IAS officer Y S Malik, having secured the environmental clearance and CTE for the project in Sector 113, construction has already begun. In Sector 117, of the 65 acres in Unitech's possession, against an allotment and lease of 71 acres, building plans for the proposed Phase 7 over about 10 acres have been withheld by the Noida Authority for now.

The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has approved the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the Sector 117 projects.

“As for the development of projects on the remaining 196 acres of land in these three sectors (Sectors 96-98, 113, and 117), where approvals have only been given for parts, the management will inform the Supreme Court about the matter and seek appropriate directions from the apex court,” Malik told BTTV.

Unitech reported a consolidated net loss of ₹1,206 crore in the first quarter of FY25. The company had posted a net loss of ₹702.97 crore in the same period last year. Total income declined to ₹84.04 crore in the April-June quarter of this fiscal year from ₹91.09 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to a regulatory filing.