Amrapali homebuyers urged to form association to take over project upkeep

The court received requested the Amrapali unit owners to step forward as neither NBCC nor the contractor will oversee the project's maintenance

Through NBCC (India) Limited, the Amrapali Stalled Projects Investments Reconstruction Establishment (ASPIRE) has asked the home buyers to form an association to take over project upkeep as it has begun to finish the stuck projects, reports the Economic Times. ASPIRE is a company appointed by the Supreme Court (SC) for completing the stalled Amrapali projects.

Since neither NBCC nor the contractor will oversee the project's maintenance, the court receiver has requested the unit owners to step forward. It has said in a letter, “The committee has decided to recognize any ad-hoc association of people, residing in a particular project, and elected to the general body of the residence of that project to be the body, responsible for assuming all maintenance tasks and obligations.”

The court receiver further said, “Such a body, on such a formal recognition being issued by the office of the receiver, can operate their bank accounts, take up the complete responsibility of maintenance after taking over the charge from NBCC, and also will be authorized to deal with all public bodies, in connection with the maintenance tasks.”

By June 2024, NBCC will deliver 46,000+ units in total, including 41,000+ sold units and 5,000+ unsold units in more than 20 halted projects.

By the time the SC rendered its decision on July 23, 2019, only a few projects, including Sapphire I & II, Platinum, Princely Estate, Eden Park, and Silicon City Phase I, were essentially finished.

When the SC appointed the Receiver, it was discovered that tenants had established Apartment Owners Associations (AOA) in the projects Sapphire I & II, Platinum, Princely Estate, Eden Park, and Silicon City Phase I. These associations are now operational. Additionally, it was discovered that Amrapali had delegated maintenance and other duties to these associations.

“As far as these associations are concerned, the receiver had no issue in dealing with them for transactions such as registration. In respect to the other projects, as NBCC began to proceed with the construction and reached the stage of handing over possession of completed units, in large numbers the issue of handing over maintenance has come up for consideration,” the letter reads.

It was found that ad-hoc associations were formed in projects like Leisure Valley or Zodiac, either informally or under the Societies Registration Act.

The NBCC had urged the committee to develop an interim solution to facilitate the task of all parties until a fully-fledged AOA is elected.

“Once AOA is formed, a further formal letter will issue from the office of the receiver, only to acknowledge the transition from the ad-hoc body to the regular body. The office of the receiver will in no way be otherwise concerned with any internal management issues of this association,” the receiver has said.