Why "GMADA approved" on a brochure does not mean your plot is safe: 6 separate approvals to verify Why "GMADA approved" on a brochure does not mean your plot is safe: 6 separate approvals to verify ## "GMADA approved" ਦਾ ਮਤਲਬ ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਪਲਾਟ ਸੁਰੱਖਿਅਤ ਨਹੀਂ: 6 ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਮਨਜ਼ੂਰੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਪੁਸ਼ਟੀ ਕਰੋ ਬ੍ਰੋਸ਼ਰ 'ਤੇ "GMADA approved" ਲਿਖਿਆ ਹੋਣ ਦਾ ਮਤਲਬ ਇਹ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਿ ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਪਲਾਟ ਸੁਰੱਖਿਅਤ ਹੈ: 6 ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਮਨਜ਼ੂਰੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਪੁਸ਼ਟੀ ਕਰੋ

The brochure problem
Walk past any plot office on the Kharar to New Chandigarh corridor and you will see the same three words on the front of the brochure, "GMADA approved", in two-foot lettering pasted across the elevation render. The phrase is not, in most cases, a lie. It is a compression. A typical residential or commercial project in this jurisdiction needs at least six separate approvals from at least two different regulators before a buyer can take possession of a plot or flat with full legal comfort. "GMADA approved" on the brochure usually means one or two of those six are in place. The remaining four often lie somewhere along a continuum from in-process, to expired, to never applied for, to cancelled. The recent Enforcement Directorate action against the Suntec City and Altus Space Builders projects, where forged consent letters allegedly stood in for genuine landowner permissions, and where one CLU approval was reportedly cancelled even as sales continued, is a sharp reminder that the layers matter.
What "GMADA approved" can mean, and why one approval is not enough
In most brochures the phrase points at one or both of two documents. The first is the Change of Land Use (CLU) letter, which moves a parcel from agricultural to non-agricultural use. The second is the licence to develop a colony, sometimes shown alongside the approved layout plan. These are necessary. They are not sufficient. Each approval below is granted on its own merits, can be revoked on its own grounds, and is meaningful only if the ones that came before it are also intact.
The six approvals, in the order they happen
1. CLU (Change of Land Use)
The CLU is the document that legally permits agricultural land to be used for a residential or commercial colony. It is granted only after the competent authority is satisfied about the title of the land, the consent of the landowners where the developer does not own all of it directly, and the conformity of the proposed use with the master plan. In late 2025, the Punjab Government amended the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995, to require developers to hold 100 per cent of the project land title before securing CLU permission, replacing an earlier model under which 25 per cent ownership plus registered agreements for the rest were sufficient. The notification was issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development on 5 December 2025. What this means for a buyer in 2026 is that a CLU dated before December 2025 was issued under the older standard. The Suntec City allegation, that CLU was secured using forged consent letters covering 30.5 acres of land owned by fifteen people, is a failure at exactly this stage. Outlook Money
2. Licence to develop and layout plan
The CLU permits a change of use. It does not, on its own, authorise the developer to actually carve the land into plots, build internal roads, or sell. That requires a separate licence. Under Section 5 of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, the licence granted by the competent authority is valid for five years and is renewable for a further two years on payment of fee, while any revision to the layout or zoning plan requires fresh permission and notice to existing plot or apartment holders. The approved layout plan that travels with the licence specifies plot sizes, road widths, parks, and the area reserved for economically weaker section housing. A buyer should confirm two things at this stage. The licence is currently in force and not expired. The plot they are being shown matches the layout plan filed with GMADA, not a "revised" layout circulated only by the dealer. Indian Kanoon
3. RERA registration
Since 2016, every project meeting the threshold under the central Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act must be registered separately with the Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority before any advertisement, marketing or booking. RERA registration is independent of GMADA approval. A project can be GMADA-approved and RERA non-compliant. A project can be RERA-registered on the basis of a CLU that is later challenged. In the ongoing ED investigation, the agency has said that it is also examining alleged irregularities in RERA approvals linked to the District 7 commercial complex, and that in the Altus Space Builders case buyers had alleged that the company falsely represented that its project had obtained final CLU approval from GMADA while concealing the fact that the approval was conditional and was later cancelled. The Punjab RERA portal at rera.punjab.gov.in lists every registered project and any complaints filed against it. It is the single most useful five-minute check a buyer can run. The Tribune
4. EDC and dues
External Development Charges (EDC) are paid by the developer to GMADA for the cost of trunk infrastructure, the arterial roads, water and sewer lines that connect the colony to the wider urban grid, even when those works happen outside the colony boundary. Internal Development Charges fund the works inside. Under the December 2025 amendment, promoters are now required to commit to 100 per cent of the EDC, instead of the earlier 25 per cent, within 30 days of receiving the Letter of Intent, and developers who default on EDC or fail to complete the project are barred from any future approvals until past dues are cleared. The ED has alleged in the current Mohali investigation that intermediaries were arranging political protection for builders who had defaulted on payments owed to GMADA. A buyer should ask the developer to share EDC payment receipts to date, and should treat a refusal to share them as a meaningful signal in itself. Outlook MoneyBusiness Standard
5. Building plan sanction
For a plot owner, this approval comes later, when they begin construction. GMADA offers two routes for sanction of building plans on residential plots up to 500 sq yards, self-certification by an architect empanelled with GMADA, or formal sanction by GMADA itself. Building plans must be submitted at least one week before the start of construction, in duplicate for plots up to 300 sq yards and in triplicate for plots between 300 and 500 sq yards. For an apartment buyer, this approval is the developer's obligation, and a sanctioned building plan that matches what is actually being constructed is the simplest test of whether the tower in front of you is the same tower the regulator approved. Mismatches between sanctioned plan and built reality are common in Punjab, and they show up first as compounding fees, and at the worst end as cancellation of occupancy permission. Greater Mohali Area Development Authority
6. Completion or partial completion certificate
The development cycle ends with a completion certificate (CC) for plotted colonies, or a partial completion certificate (PCC) where the colony is being handed over in phases, or an occupation certificate (OC) for apartment buildings. Under PAPRA, the area under roads, open spaces, parks and other public utilities is required to be transferred to the local authority before the issue of completion certificate, and the promoter remains responsible for maintenance of roads, open spaces and public health services for five years from the date of the certificate or until that maintenance is handed over to a residents' association. The bank guarantee furnished by the promoter is released only after the layout and development works have been completed and the completion certificate has been issued. Without the CC or PCC, the colony is in regulatory terms still under development. Possession may be given, electricity and water connections may be live, and resale may be happening in the open market, but the legal closure of the development cycle has not occurred. For a buyer, the absence of a CC or PCC several years after possession is a flag worth understanding before paying. Indian KanoonLatest Laws
What changed in December 2025
The amendment to PAPRA notified on 5 December 2025 was a direct response to the kind of fact pattern that the Suntec City investigation has now publicised. Developers can no longer obtain a CLU on partial ownership. The EDC commitment is no longer staged at 25 per cent, it is full upfront. Defaulting developers are no longer eligible for fresh approvals on other projects until they clear past dues. These changes apply prospectively, which means the resale inventory in the market today, including most stock launched between 2018 and 2025, was approved under the older rules. A buyer reading a brochure in 2026 still needs to ask under which rule book each of the six approvals on a given project was actually issued.
The Aerotropolis carve-out: LOI is a different instrument
The active tradeable instrument in Aerotropolis Pockets A through D is not a private colony plot or an apartment. It is a Letter of Intent issued by GMADA itself in exchange for land surrendered under the land pooling scheme. Because the issuing authority and the original seller of the underlying land are effectively on the same side of the transaction, the chain of approvals does not look like the six above. A buyer of an LOI has a different and shorter list to verify, primarily the authenticity of the LOI document at the GMADA counter, the chain of any prior transfers, and the notification status of the pocket. Our LOI price tracker and the investor guide cover that path in detail. The point worth flagging here is only that "GMADA approved" applied to an LOI in Pocket A is a different claim from "GMADA approved" applied to a private colony in a Mohali sector, even though the words on the brochure are identical.
A practical checklist before you sign
Before paying any token money on a plot or flat in the Kharar to New Chandigarh corridor, a buyer should be able to obtain or independently verify the following six items. The CLU letter, with date of issue and cited extent of land. The licence to develop, with current validity period and the matching layout plan. The RERA registration number, cross-checked at rera.punjab.gov.in along with any complaints filed. EDC payment receipts to date, or a written status of dues outstanding from GMADA. The sanctioned building plan, where applicable to the unit being purchased. The completion or partial completion certificate, or, in its absence, a clear written statement that the project is still under development and on what timeline closure is expected. A serious developer or a serious dealer should be willing to share these. A buyer who asks and does not receive them has, in the silence, already obtained a useful answer.

This article is general information based on the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995, the Rules made under it, and public guidance issued by GMADA and the Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority as of May 2026. It is not legal advice. mohaliaerotropolis.com is not a RERA-registered agent. Buyers considering a specific project should consult a qualified property lawyer for an opinion on the chain of approvals affecting that project.