Amrapali to SC: Have submitted proposal for construction of unsold projects by NBCC to Central committee

The embattled Amrapali group on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it has submitted the proposal for construction of its unsold projects by the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to the high-powered monitoring committee set up by the central government to look into delayed projects in Noida.

At the hearing on Wednesday, the Supreme Court bench comprising justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit asked the Amrapali group to furnish the details of the proposal given to the Centre in 10 days and submit financial details of projects undertaken by it since 2008.

“A proposal has been made by Amrapali at the high-powered meeting on Wednesday that its problem can be resolved with NBCC getting in. That proposal has been submitted to the high-powered committee. It will consider it and take an appropriate decision on the proposal. We are hoping for a development in the next 10 days,” counsel for Amrapali Group Alok Aggarwal told Moneycontrol.

The high-powered committee’s meeting was held on Wednesday. NBCC, Noida Authority, Greater Noida Authority and the four  real estate developers - Amrapali Group, Jaypee group, 3Cs and Unitech - were represented at the meeting, sources said.

NBCC sources told Moneycontrol that at the meeting, the ministry requested NBCC to look into the viability of the proposal. “The proposal needs to be vetted and due diligence of Amrapali’s properties also needs to be carried out. We may even decide to come up with a counter proposal,” sources said.

NBCC if it decides to take over the projects, will manage it as a project management consultant (PMC) to ensure that completed houses are handed over to homebuyers and there is no diversion of money. For the purpose an agreement may have to be entered between NBCC, Noida Authority and the Amrapali group so as to manage the projects as a PMC, sources said.

If an agreement is signed with Amrapali, it will continue to remain the promoter and will be responsible for any litigations concerning the projects. The embattled firm may even be asked to deposit its unsold inventory with NBCC which may be mortgaged to raise the PMC’s fees, sources said.

NBCC may decide to take up a couple of projects first and then the rest, they said.

A similar model may be considered in case of other delayed projects by other developers in Noida which may be taken up by either NBCC or a other agencies, sources said.

“If NBCC decides to manage the project, initial funding may come in through a financial institution after mortgaging Amrapali’s unsold land. As PMC we will have to ensure quality of construction through the contractor and we will deposit the realization in an escrow account,” NBCC sources said.

At the Supreme Court hearing held on Wednesday, Additional Solicitor General Vikram Jeet Banerjee urged the court to make it clear that it should not be construed that the proposal for taking up the projects was the bench's direction, but was just a proposal given by the builder. The bench also asked the promoters of the Amrapali group not to leave the country.

At an earlier hearing on May 17, the apex court had given the go ahead to three co-developers to complete the stalled projects. It had also asked the embattled developer to deposit Rs 250 crore in four weeks in an escrow account that will be have to paid to co-developers on completion of the projects. These co-developers included Noida-based Galaxy Group, IIFL-Viridian consortium and Kanodia Cement.

Earlier, homebuyers and Amrapali Group had agreed upon a joint proposal under which pending projects were divided into four baskets. Out of the total, 26 projects in the A and B category were to be given to the co-developer which need to be completed within agreed timelines.

On April 25, the apex court had said it would like to be assured of the financial standing and credentials of a company which is willing to take over some of the projects of Amrapali Group, observing that the homebuyers "cannot be just thrown to a frying pan". The Amrapali Group had then given the details of its ongoing housing projects, stages of work and the likely time to complete construction.

The company had earlier told the top court in an affidavit that it was not in a position to complete the projects and hand over possession of flats to over 42,000 homebyers in a time-bound manner.

vandana.ramnani@nw18.com