8,000 homebuyers brace for Supreme Court hearing on Amrapali Group

There is much hope riding on the Supreme Court hearing this Thursday for around 8,000 homebuyers of the insolvent Amrapali Group.
 
These 8,000 houses are part of the 15 projects of the realty group, constituting a total of 46,575 units.  The buyers hope the SC would allow not only registration of already occupied houses but completion of pending civic work, with the money earlier ordered to be deposited by the company's chief financial officer (CFO). This was to be transferred to state entity NBCC, to start work on some towers.
 
“We are hoping the court would allow registration of deeds of all occupied flats, as indicated (by the judges) at the last hearing. We are also hopeful it will pass orders for individual electricity and water connections. This will immediately provide relief to almost 8,000 people.
 
Further, the court had asked for deposit of Rs 12 crore by the CFO. If that happens, NBCC has indicated they can start work immediately,” said Kumar Mihir, counsel in the case.
 
During the earlier hearing last Wednesday, the court-appointed forensic auditors had told it that high-end apartments were booked in Amrapali housing societies for as low as Rs 1, Rs 5 and Rs 11 a sq ft, in the name of over 500 people.

 
“They have only unravelled the tip of the iceberg. The court has asked for tracing the money and, if possible, recovery of the said diverted money. If this is taken to its logical end, the Amrapali projects will be completed. Whatever money has been recovered till now is also because of this. We hope funds are generated and work starts,” Mihir said.
 

On January 16, the court had reprimanded Chander Wadhwa, the CFO, when the auditors said he had transferred Rs 1 crore into his wife's account and then Rs 4.75 crore to ‘unidentified persons’, three days before deposing in the case on October 26 last year. The judges told Wadhwa he had no right to do this. The auditors said Wadhwa had a total of Rs 12 crore in his account before he had appeared in court for the first time.
 
“You have obstructed the course of justice and we may haul you up for contempt of court,” the Bench had said, directing Wadhwa to put back all the money within seven days. Wadhwa, say sources, is likely to ask for more time to do so, for lack of cash.
 
Homebuyers say they expect the money recovered from the CFO would be used to complete some of the pending work, to enable the houses to be given to them.
 
Calling the group one of the biggest of liars, the apex court last year had ordered attachment and auction of its properties, including four corporate offices in Noida and Greater Noida.
 
And, asked the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Delhi to auction these.A villa in Goa, 15 luxury cars, malls in Bareilly, Muzaffarpur and Gaya, and a hotel in Greater Noida are all on the sale list of group property, worth at least Rs 1,500 crore.
 
The homebuyers, waiting for almost a decade, hope planned and timely sale would help restart the stalled construction.