The Gautam Budh Nagar district administration on May 8 briefly detained RK Arora, chairman of real estate developer Supertech, for failure to pay dues worth Rs 33 crore against the recovery certificates (RCs) issued by the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UPRERA) against him. Arora was later released after he assured the administration that he would pay up the amount in a time-bound manner, officials privy to the development said.
According to district administration officials, RCs worth Rs 33 crore were issued against Supertech by UPRERA which prompted the action.
Vandita Srivastava, Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Gautam Budh Nagar, said that Supertech had failed to clear dues of Rs 33 crore following RCs issued by UPRERA.
“RK Arora was arrested following RCs of Rs 33 crore issued by UPRERA. The arrest was part of our action against defaulting builders. Arora had not shown any intent to clear the dues during 'Munadi' so we arrested him, but later we released him after he promised to pay Rs 7 crore in 10 days’ time and the remaining amount in fractions in a scheduled payment manner,” Srivastava told Moneycontrol.
She said that Arora has been released with a warning that if the promised amount is not paid within 10 days then appropriate action will be taken against him.
However, Supertech in a statement said: “There is some fake news circulating in the media that RK Arora has been arrested. It is fake news. He was in SDM office for a regular meeting.”
Background
Earlier last month, the district administration had sealed the office of Supertech Group in Noida Sector 96 over unpaid dues.
The district administration had lately initiated recovery action against defaulter developers over pending dues after UPRERA issued RCs against 51 builders who cumulatively owed Rs 502 crore.
The recovery action started on April 7 when the district administration formed 40 teams, comprising clerks and tehsildars, to identify the properties of defaulter builders and initiate action which included ‘name and shame’ of defaulters, sealing of offices and properties of defaulters.
District administration officials said that the UPRERA had issued the recovery certificates following pleas filed by homebuyers and investors who demanded their money back from developers, who failed to deliver housing projects.
Supertech has been in the news for all the wrong reasons for quite some time. The developer is also currently undergoing a corporate insolvency process. Apart from non-payment of dues and pending registries and projects, Supertech has been in the news over the demolition of its “illegally constructed” twin towers in sector 93 A.
Supertech's illegal twin towers located in Noida Sector 93A were demolished in a controlled implosion on August 28, 2022, following a Supreme Court order. The apex court had ruled that the towers were in violation of norms and were a result of a nexus between Supertech and some Noida authority officials.