Noida: After Supertech Ltd, one of the biggest real estate groups of Delhi NCR went into solvency, the fate of thousands of buyers hangs by a thread. The company was declared insolvent on March 25, 2022, by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). However, several homebuyers are still left dealing with the issues of pending registries and under constructed flats.
A PTI report says that Supertech Ltd has 38,041 customers and out of them, only 27,111 people have got their homes. As many as 10,930 homebuyers are yet to receive the keys to their homes. Out of these undelivered homes, over 70 percent of homes are constructed, according to Supertech Group Managing Director, Mohit Arora. According to the PTI report, NCLT said, "There has been a default in payment of the financial debt" and appointed Hitesh Goyal as the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) superseding the board of Supertech Ltd."
As per Mihir Guatum, a resident of Ecovillage 2, some senior advocates will visit the society this Sunday to clear the process of insolvency for the registry and pending flats.
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Thousands of homebuyers are now worried over whether they will ever get their homes and registry papers or not. Varnit Bisht, a resident of Supertech Capetown says, “Because of the dues of the builder to the Noida Authority, all the residents are struggling to get their registry papers. We have already paid the stamp duty and purchased E stamps also. Due to the pending registry, the bank charges high interest from us. After the insolvency, we are uncertain what will happen. We do not know whether the builder will present our flat as an asset or a liability.”
Rajiva Singh, President, NOFAA says, “Insolvency proceedings once started by a construction company, in fact, gives an advantage to the builder. The home buyers are left with not too many favorable options now. Once a company gets into the insolvency resolution process (IRP) it gets a moratorium on all pending civil legal cases or the RERA pending cases, till the time a resolution is reached. Homebuyers, hence cannot file any further complaint once the NCLT starts with bankruptcy proceedings. So it's almost a dead-end for the home buyers.”
As per NOFAA, the question remains as to how many more years the residents will have to suffer due to the absence of accountability in the system?
Rajiva adds, “Homebuyers should get together immediately and file their claim forms and submit it to NCLT where Hitesh Goel is appointed as the insolvency resolution professional (IRP) for Supertech under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). With this they become a part of the Committee of Creditors ( COC). The COC will become the approving authority for all major decisions.”
Manish Kumar, Senior Vice President NEFOWA says, “Now the residents and buyers of Supertech are worried about their pending flats and registry. Nothing is clear about whether the NCLT order will impact any particular project or will it impact all projects of Supertech. Residents are worried about their pending registry and unpossessed flats. If the company gets dissolve by NCLT, who will complete all the pending works.”
Sameer Bharadwaj, a resident of Supertech Eco village 1, says, “We do not know what will happen. In the matter of authority and builder, residents are the ones who always suffer. There are absolutely no guidelines and system. The process of insolvency should be made clear to the residents. We should not be left in any uncertainty.”