Jaypee Infra case: 3,400 homes offered for possession in one year

The resolution professional for Jaypee Infratech has, in the past nine months, offered 3,400 houses for possession.

A source close to the resolution professional said, “As the resolution process continues, we intend to give possession to 1,000 people every month.” 

When the insolvency proceedings against Jaypee Infratech were initiated, homebuyers became jittery because they were not sure of getting possession. 

However, workers completing these houses are fewer in number than what is required, say officials. While 15,000 workers are needed, 3,000 are available.

The interim resolution professional, Anuj Jain, has invited expressions of interest for Jaypee Infratech, which will undergo the resolution process from scratch after the Supreme Court order last week. 

The mandatory timeframe of 270 days for resolution after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted the case was over in May this year.

The Supreme Court recently ordered that the insolvency case of Jaypee Infratech be returned to the NCLT, and the entire process, including bidding for the asset, be restarted.

This follows the amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in June, bringing homebuyers on a par with financial creditors.

Though the amendments are not retrospectively applicable, they will be in accordance with the Supreme Court order.

According to sources, homebuyers’ dues in the case are about Rs 99 billion while Jaypee owes bankers Rs 100 billion. 

The money collected by the court from the promoters of Jaypee Infratech, Rs 7.5 billion, will be transferred to the NCLT. The Allahabad branch of the NCLT is hearing the case. The petition in the Supreme Court was filed by homebuyers who opposed the insolvency proceedings, fearing they would lose their investments.

This means corporate entities undergoing the IBC process cannot cite this case to restart the 180-day period (initial period) for insolvency resolution and committee of creditors’ (CoC) meetings. It will, however, apply to cases where homebuyers were not included in CoC meetings.

Before the Supreme Court started hearing the case, the bidding process had been completed. The highest bidder was Lakshadweep, a joint venture between Suraksha Asset Reconstruction and Dosti Realty.

But the CoC rejected its offer. IDBI Bank is the main lender to Jaypee.