150 flats to be handed over to Amrapali homebuyers around Diwali

"It's a welcome development for the buyers who have been waiting for their houses for last 8-10 years. This will also boost investor confidence and will encourage new buyers to buy unsold inventory being sold by NBCC," said Kumar Mihir, an advocate representing homebuyers in the Amrapali case.

In July, NBCC which is tasked with executing complete construction of more than 20 housing projects with an estimated investment of over Rs 8,000 crore under the monitoring of a court-appointed committee, had invited bids from property consultants to take over the sale of housing units of Amrapali Group valued at Rs 2,182.57 crore along with 21,897 sq ft of commercial space worth Rs 25 crore.

A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Ajay Rastogi on October 25 was informed by court receiver senior advocate R Venkataramani that 300 flats are nearing completion out of which 150 flats have been completed by NBCC and will be handed over during the upcoming festival.

Venkataramani also informed the court that State Bank of India and UCO bank have agreed to pledge Rs 450 crore, while Bank of Baroda has in principle agreed to infuse funds for completion of the stalled projects.

The bench directed all the concerned banks to come up with a final proposal within two weeks and file a compliance report.

Advocate ML Lahoty appearing for homebuyers submitted a note to the court and said that there are several issues pending consideration of the bench including recovery of funds from various entities and individuals who have diverted or siphoned off homebuyers money as per the July 23, 2019 verdict of the top court.

On September 3, the top court had warned that the flat buyers of Amrapali Group who have not been paying their dues as per the payment plan should not be in any kind of delusion as their units can be cancelled and will be considered as unsold inventory.

The Supreme Court on August 13 gave 15 days’ notice to 9,538 Amrapali homebuyers to fill their details on the court receiver’s website and start making payments, failing which the court receiver would be at liberty to cancel their allotment and include their units as part of the unsold inventory.

The two-member bench comprising Justices U U Lalit and Ajay Rastogi had said that homebuyers who have not filled the customer data on the court receiver’s website nor paid any amount be granted 15 days’ time by the court receiver failing which they be declared as defaulters and their properties treated as unsold inventory.

However, the issue of 6,210 homebuyers who have taken the benefit of subvention scheme facility and are finding it difficult, will be addressed separately, the court had said.

The Supreme Court on October 20, 2021 rejected the plea of the ex-director of Amrapali Group seeking bail on medical grounds in the money laundering case against him saying that it is not a case of a medical emergency as such. The top court said that the prayer for bail on medical grounds has been pursued unsuccessfully since September 2020.

Amrapali Group's ex-directors Anil Kumar Sharma, Shiv Priya, and Ajay Kumar are behind bars on the top court's order since 2019 and multiple cases have been lodged against them for allegedly diverting homebuyers’ money.

The court had in 2019 asked the government’s construction arm to finish and deliver 38,159 flats by the erstwhile Amrapali Group by 2023 after several homebuyers sought its intervention, complaining about years of delay in handing over their homes.

The SC on October 13, 2020 had permitted the court receiver to incorporate a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to enable flow of funds from SBICap for completion of unfinished projects. SBICap has agreed to fund Rs 650 crore for around 7,000 stuck units.

It is for this reason that the company Amrapali Stalled Projects Investments Reconstruction Establishment (ASPIRE) has been floated. It consists of a court receiver, a forensic auditor and a chartered accountant. It is a not-for-profit company under Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013.

ASPIRE announced the sale of the units through an open draw in March 2021. As many as 20 of the 49 residential units spread across Amrapali projects in Noida and Greater Noida worth Rs 20 crore have been sold so far.

The units had been put up for sale in the month of March and the results of the offline draw were announced on June 14, sources said.

On July 23, 2019, the top court cancelled the registration of the Amrapali Group under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, and ousted it from its prime properties in NCR by nixing land leases for breaching buyers’ trust.