Ansal collected crores from homebuyers without buying land: LDA report

Ansal API, the developers of Sushant Golf on Sultanpur Road, collected crores of rupees from homebuyers without acquiring or buying land for the project, according to a Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) report.

The development agency, which was asked to verify charges against the realtor by a five-member UP lawmakers’ panel hearing the matter, has confirmed serious violation of norms including fraud with homebuyers.

“The developers collected ₹419 crore from 3,673 homebuyers by allotting them property on land which was neither acquired nor bought by them,” said the report which was submitted to the probe panel by LDA vice chairman Prabhu Narain Singh on Monday.

The licence for developing hi-tech township was given by the UP Government in 2003 on the condition that the developer would build 10 per cent houses each for the economically weaker section (EWS) and lower income group against the total number of units in the township.

But more than a decade after the project launch, the developer has completed construction on 2,139 such dwelling units against a target of 9,070 in the 3530-acre township, the report said, adding that the number of group housings has not been taken into account while fixing the target for these units.

The developer was indicted on a similar count by an inquiry conducted by the vice chairperson of the Kanpur Development Authority (KDA) Saumya Aggarwal.

This report was forwarded for further verification by the lawmakers’ panel to LDA as it is the nodal agency as well as the regulatory body for all development work in the city.

BJP MLA Vinod Katiyar, who heads the lawmakers’ panel, said: “We have seen the report submitted by the LDA VC. It has confirmed most of the charges levelled by homebuyers including the fact that the developer sold 129 acres of mortgaged land without the permission of the authorities. I have asked the developer to remove all anomalies and complete development work on the township within a year.”

Katiyar said the realtor had been asked to give the commitment on an affidavit.

He said the developer had failed to comply with the norms including the mandatory construction of houses for the underprivileged sections.

“I have also come to know that the land meant for the SC/ST category in the township was also sold without necessary clearances and asked the LDA VC to submit his report on this in the next meeting on August 8,” he said.

The committee, he said, had received several fresh complaints from homebuyers and would also listen to their grievances after August 8.

Repeated phone calls, text messages and emails by HT to the developer and their management for their version remained unanswered.

The lawmakers’ panel was set up by Vidhan Sabha Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit following complaints by more than 200 homebuyers against the developer.

The hearing in the case, scheduled for July 20, was put off after the LDA VC sought more time to submit the report.

On Monday, Singh made a presentation before the committee in which most of the charges levelled against the developer by homebuyers were found to be true, official sources said.