Noida: A fire on the 21st floor of Tower 4 at Aranya Society in Sector 119 on Monday has underscored the dangers faced by thousands of homebuyers living in incomplete and insolvency-hit housing projects across Noida. The incident has reignited demands for mandatory fire safety audits and stricter accountability for stalled developments.Aranya is one of over 60 such projects in Noida where residents have been compelled to move in before construction is finished — not by choice, but because they cannot afford to pay both rent and home loan EMIs indefinitely.The society, a nearly 2,500-unit project, has been under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Proceedings (CIRP) since 2019. Only about 1,500 flats are occupied, and the project still lacks an occupancy certificate, and a resident-elected apartment owners association (AOA).“Our builder abandoned the project several years ago. For over seven years, the interim resolution professional has failed to complete the firefighting system or obtain an OC. Because the project is stalled, essential civic and emergency infrastructure remains fundamentally broken or non-existent,” said Sumit Sharma, a resident.Akhil Tiwari of Tower 4, where Monday’s fire broke out, said the builder was present when he took possession in 2023 but went bankrupt midway through the project. “We had not anticipated getting stuck without basic amenities — no parking, no proper fire system, incomplete lifts, no AOA, waterlogged basements during monsoon. We are living here because we have to pay EMIs and cannot afford rent on top of that,” he said.Residents pour life savings into homes, then face years of legal delays, pending authority dues and insolvency proceedings. Many shift in as soon as individual towers are ready, even as the larger project remains unfinished.According to Abhishek Kumar, president of New Era Flatowners Welfare Association (NEFOWA), which counts 54 highrises as members, approximately 60–70 highrise projects in Greater Noida West alone have residents living in them while construction or essential common infrastructure is still incomplete. In many, only select towers have received occupancy approvals.The absence of a functional AOA compounds every problem. “We pay maintenance charges every month, yet there is no elected body to represent residents or hold anyone accountable. Basic issues remain unresolved for long periods,” said Sanjay Jha, a resident of Amrapali Leisure Park.The consequences extend beyond safety. Sanjeev Saxena of Supertech Eco Village 2 said that without property registration, he cannot mortgage his flat or access an education loan for his children. “I am paying for my home, but on paper I still don’t feel like the rightful owner. After spending our life’s savings, we are unable to use the asset when our family needs support the most,” he said.Ashutosh Sharma of Capital Athena said even Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) Fund support produced little visible progress at his society. “Large parts of the project remain incomplete, pending registrations continue to deprive buyers of legal ownership, and residents are left without representation, transparency or accountability,” he said.Resident federation leaders are now pressing authorities for immediate action. Puneet Sharma, president of Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations (NOFAA), said that while NCLT-supervised projects have been permitted occupancy under pressure, almost all such societies lack basic amenities or have severe gaps in services compared to fully functional developments.“All conditional OCs and completion certificates must make Fire NOC mandatory. This is a matter of life and death,” he said.Nikhil Singhal, president of Noida HighRise Federation 100x Sectors, called on Noida Authority, the fire department and all agencies concerned to immediately conduct comprehensive fire safety audits of all incomplete and insolvency-hit societies.“The safety and lives of residents must take precedence over administrative and legal delays. No family should have to live in an unsafe environment simply because their dream home is stuck in insolvency,” he said.
