Amrapali buyers move SC for rights

NOIDA:

A group of homebuyers

has moved a writ petition in the Supreme Court against beleaguered

real estate company Amrapali

, seeking that their financial and legal rights be secured.

The group of buyers, Noida Extension Flat Owners’ Welfare Association (Nefowa), has mentioned in its petition several projects of the Amrapali Group — Ultra Homes, Golf Homes, Verona Heights (which includes Adarsh Awas Yojna), Centurion Park, Dream Valley and Leisure Park — and appealed that they be offered the status of “creditors” in the company’s accounts.

The appeal, which was admitted on Monday, has been listed for hearing on Wednesday. The buyers said they felt the need to move the apex court as the group had failed to repay debts for one of its projects in Sector 76.

“With insolvency proceedings already in place against the company for a particular project, we appealed in the Supreme Court that buyers’ rights in all the other projects be secured,” said Abhishek Kumar, the president of Nefowa.

The petition mentions all the projects that the company has undertaken over the past one year. The home buyers appealed that they be treated as “secured financial creditors” in case a situation of financial resolution arose against Amrapali.

The petitioners have also sought directions to the Uttar Pradesh government to implement the Project Settlement Policy to complete projects, restrain Amrapali from selling any of its properties without the permission of the court, appoint a monitoring committee to oversee the completion of a project and handing over the flats to buyers, offer compensation for delaying possession, no payment of EMI till possession and in case the flat is not handed over, the original amount be returned to the buyers with 24% .

The buyers have also pleaded that a government agency like NBCC or Hudco be introduced for the timely completion of the projects.

Told about the petition in the apex court, Amrapali executive director Shiv Priya said, “We want to assure the buyers that we have secured financiers for the completion of our flats. There are 25,000 apartments that need to be completed and we are in need of Rs 3,500 crore. We will present these proposals before the Supreme Court.”