Noida, G Noida to file plea in SC to recover Rs 5,700 cr from Amrapali Group

The Noida and Greater Noida authorities on Thursday said they will file a review plea before the Supreme Court to recover around Rs 5,700 crore in land dues from Amrapali Group.

The Supreme Court, in its July 23 order, had directed the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to execute registries of ready flats and transfer them to buyers within a month, without bothering about the dues that Amrapali still owes them.

The Greater Noida authority has to recover Rs 3,700 crore from Amrapali, whose directors are in Tihar jail for failing to deliver flats and on charges of diversion of funds, while the Noida authority has to recover around Rs 2,000 crore from the developer.

Officials of the two authorities said they will execute registries as directed, but will file a review petition to recover the dues. The Greater Noida authority in its 115th board meeting held on Thursday said not recovering land dues from Amrapali will impact the maintenance of existing infra projects and the construction of future development projects in the city. However, the Greater Noida authority said it will provide basic amenities in Amrapali projects.

“We will file a review plea within a week to protect the interests of the authority,” Narendra Bhooshan, chief executive officer (CEO), Greater Noida authority, said.

“The names (of homebuyers) will be decided by the receiver for executing registries. As soon as they give us the list, we will do the registries,” Bhooshan said.

The Greater Noida authority board, chaired by Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey, also reviewed the report on Amrapali. The board agreed to ‘protect the interests of homebuyers and decided to carry out a tripartite lease deed’. It also approved a proposal to provide basic facilities, including water and electricity, to those already living in Amrapali projects.

Noida authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari said, “We are already going to file a review/ clarification plea regarding our duties stipulated in the SC order. We are complying with the directions with regard to homebuyers.”

Insolvency Plea

In October 2017, Bank of Baroda had filed a plea before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to recover a loan of Rs 97.30 crore, thereby dragging the realty major to corporate insolvency proceedings.

The same month, NCLT appointed a resolution professional to take control of Amrapali. A group of buyers, in November 2017, had filed a plea before the Supreme Court seeking relief. In February 2019, the SC directed the Delhi Police to arrest Amrapali Group directors on charges of cheating and duping homebuyers.

On July 23, 2019, the SC appointed a court receiver who control the housing projects and carry out further activities that include registry of ready flats, accepting money from buyers, selling unsold flats and dealing with state-owned NBCC, which has been directed to finish the construction of stuck projects.