The Supreme Court on July 31 directed the amicus curiae to put up the Unitech resolution plan prepared by the newly-appointed board on its website and invite suggestions from all stakeholders within 10 days.
A bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah, in a hearing conducted through video conferencing, took note of the suggestion made by advocate Pawan Shree Agrawal, who is assisting it as an amicus curiae, that if the court wished, then the resolution plan may be shared with the parties on the portal.
“We request amicus curiae Pawan Shree Agrawal to upload the copy of the resolution plan filed by the newly constituted board on the portal maintained by him in pursuance to the court's order," the bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah said in the order.
The amicus curiae Pawan Shree Agarwal has been directed to collate the suggestions and present it before the court on the next date of hearing which is on August 14.
“We would be uploading the resolution plan today itself,” Agarwal told Moneycontrol.
The apex court also issued a contempt notice against Devas LLP, the company that had bought Unitech’s Bengaluru land, for not having paid up Rs 52 crore to the court registry within four weeks of the order issued by the Supreme Court in February 2020.
The firm’s partners have been directed to appear before the court on the next date of hearing.
The worth of the Bengaluru land bought by Devas is Rs 97 crore. Unitech's share in this amount is Rs 49 crore.
As per the resolution plan submitted last week, the Unitech board would take four years to complete construction and require Rs 5,000 crore to complete construction of incomplete units.
“To bring an end to the miseries of unending wait of the homebuyers, the Board has drawn up the tentative schedule depending upon the existing level of completion of projects/ sub-projects. The Board envisages that construction at various sites can be commenced within 6 months of the approval of the Resolution Framework, and possession of flats can thereafter be delivered as per the following tentative schedule: (i) Within 1st 12 months: up to 2,500 units to be delivered; (ii)Within 12 - 24 months: up to 6,500 additional units; (iii) Within 24 - 36 months: up to 5,000 additional units; (iv) Within 36-48 months: balance units to be delivered,” the resolution plan has said.
The Unitech resolution plan also proposes that the amount to complete construction would be raised by utilising additional FAR, disposing of land banks some of which are located in prime locations and money receivables from homebuyers. The board is also looking at raising finances from the SWAMIH fund, banks and financial institutions.
The board has also sought a waiver of around Rs 5,000-crore interest and penalties charged by the Noida Authority, a reduction in the interest rate from banks, and sale of some assets to raise funds to complete flats and villas.
As per estimates, Unitech owes Noida Authority around Rs 8,000 crore of which around Rs 5,000 crore is interest and penalties for delayed payment. The liability to banks is estimated to be around Rs 5,000 crore, with interest forming around 40 percent of the amount. The embattled firm has an unsold inventory of around Rs 3,000 crore and land worth another Rs 6,000 crore, sources said.
Under the plan, it has been proposed that no refunds shall be made to homebuyers and delivery of units would be the sole objective. Homebuyers would not be entitled to any compensation for delay in project work.
It has been proposed that homebuyers be directed to pay the balance unpaid amount as per the updated payment plan which will be communicated to them through the website within 90 days from the date of approval of the resolution framework.
Unitech is facing the wrath of the Supreme Court in a case related to alleged siphoning of homebuyers’ money. The matter pertains to a criminal case lodged in 2015 by 158 homebuyers of Unitech projects’ Wild Flower Country and Anthea Project located in Gurgaon.
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