Earlier, the Greater Noida Authority had invited tenders for the government’s sports city, but no one had showed interest in the scheme. Costing over Rs 5,000 crore, the BPTP deal was one of the biggest in India, in which the company had bagged 95 acres of commercial land in Noida’s Sector 94. “Following the UP government’s policy, the BPTP has made an application to the Noida Authority for surrendering the plot and is awaiting its decision,” said a statement issued by the company’s director, Sudhanshu Tripathi.

Corporate Communication officer AC Michael confirmed that the company, as per government rules, had paid 25 per cent of the total cost of the land, which came to Rs 1,300 crore.

But unable to pay the rest, it has requested the Authority to deduct 10 per cent of Rs 1,300 crore as penalty and give land worth the balance.

In view of the market slump, especially in real estate, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) had given representations to the Centre and the state governments, demanding relaxation in policies.

According to sources in the industry, CREDAI gave one such representation to the UP government as well, requesting relaxation especially for real

estate developers, who had interest in Lucknow, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. The organisation had

observed that the companies were facing difficulty in paying instalments and other dues.

Accepting the representation, the state government had framed a policy, giving a breather to developers. They were given a choice to either get their payment plan rescheduled or to purchase a smaller chunk of land for the 25 per cent money paid, after a deduction of 10 per cent as penalty.

In its board meeting held last month, the Noida Authority had adopted the policy.