Government nominee directors appointed on board of crisis-hit Unitech

HDFC MD Renu Sud Karnad, Hiranandani group MD Niranjan Hiranandani, Embassy group CMD Jitu Virwani and NBCC's former CMD A K Mittal have been appointed as government's nominee directors on the board of crisis-hit Unitech.

B Sriram (former MD and CEO of IDBI Bank), and Girish Kumar Ahuja (Independent Director, SBI), have also been appointed on the board, which has been superseded by the central government on Supreme Court's direction.

In a regulatory filing, Unitech informed that Niranjan Hiranandani, Renu Sud Karnad, Girish Kumar Ahuja, Jitu Virwani, B Sriram and Anoop Kumar Mittai have been appointed as nominee directors of the central government on the board of directors of Unitech Ltd, with immediate effect:

"Furthermore, intimation of order(s) of central government regarding Prabhakar Singh would be issued separately," it added.

On Tuesday, Unitech's newly appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) Yudvir Singh Malik assumed office on Tuesday.

"Yudvir Singh Malik, IAS (Retd) has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of the company in terms of order of the Supreme Court of India, with immediate effect," Unitech had said in a regulatory filing.

"Malik has assumed office today (Tuesday) and held a brief meeting with the key managerial personnel(s) (chief financial officer and company secretary)," it added.

On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Centre to take total management control of the embattled realty firm and appoint a new board of nominee directors. The decision would bring respite to over 12,000 hassled homebuyers of Unitech.

The top court had approved the name of retired Haryana cadre IAS officer Yudvir Singh Malik as CMD of the new board and directed that the existing board of directors of the company would stand superseded.

The new board has been asked to come out with a resolution framework within two months.

It had refused to appoint Unitech Group founder Ramesh Chandra, as a member of the new board saying that it would not be appropriate at this stage.

Chandra's sons -- Ajay Chandra and Sanjay Chandra -- are in jail after the company defaulted on giving possession of flats to its homebuyers on time.

Both were serving as MDs of the company before the board was superseded.