HDIL vs MIAL: Govt seeks to retake tenements

The battle between Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) and MIAL raged on in the Bombay High Court. On Wednesday, Mumbai's slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) argued for its right to repossess the built tenements, reports Ashmit Kumar of CNBC-TV18. Meanwhile, interim relief, barring the SRA from initiating recovery proceedings, still continues.

Also read: Failure to meet deadline breach of pact by HDIL: MIAL The dispute has gone much beyond merely HDIL and Mumbai International Airport (MIAL). In fact, HDIL brought in Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) as parties to the case. They were concerned that not enough cooperation was seen from government agencies. SRA clarified that it did issue transfer of development rights (TDRs) to HDIL. It was submitted by HDIL. It did sell those TDRs for a conciliation of Rs 2,400 crore. SRA’s main argument has been that, in light of this conciliation, HDIL is obligated to construct nearly 18,800 tenements and hand over possession to the SRA. Meanwhile, SRA also clarified that it has an independent agreement with HDIL and it is not subject to the HDIL-MIAL arrangement. Hence, no relief can be sought from the SRA based out of the HDIL-MIAL contract. Meanwhile, MMRDA clarified that no relief has been sought from them. The second clarification was that the scheme under the MMRDA for slum rehabilitation had not been adhered to. The third important clarification was that they did not improve of HDIL as a developer as far as this project is concerned. HDIL clung to this point and argued that MIAL was in breach of contract for not having secured the approval of the MMRDA. It in turn led to delays in terms of getting necessary clearances and hence the deadlines. This assumes significance in light of MIAL raising concerns on claims of liquidated damages of Rs 276 crore based on delays. So, a lot of back and forth has been seen. More arguments in this case are expected on July 23.