The claim was filed with the National Company Law Tribunal today.
Noida Authority today filed a claim of Rs 650 crore in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), an Allahabad high court bench, against Amrapali Silicon City, Sector 76, Noida. According to Authority officials, the claim has been filed with the IRP, or the interim resolution professional, of the project.
"Amrapali has defaulted on Rs 3,000 crore with Noida Authority. There is a due of Rs 650 crore against Amrapali Silicon City alone," said Manmohan Mishra, financial controller of Noida Authority.
Noida Authority and homebuyers of Amrapali Silicon City may challenge the order of NCLT of initiating insolvency proceedings against the fund-starved builder in the Supreme Court.
With insolvency proceedings for Rs 56 crore already having started, homebuyers panicked, as under the insolvency and bankruptcy code, preference would always be given to financial creditors, or banks, and not buyers.
"We will take all the necessary legal steps to safeguard our rights. We are even contemplating filing a plea at the Supreme Court through the residents’ association,” said an office bearer of the Amrapali Silicon City social welfare association.
It is pertinent to mention that the Silicon City project is spread over almost 1,80,000 sq m and has about 5,000 flats, which were supposed to be completed by the end of 2013. However, the builder is yet to complete work in seven towers of the 21. About 1,000 buyers have already moved into a housing project where even basic amenities are missing.
“We do not have a community centre or a green area,” said Rahul Singhal, a buyer. “The builder has not even constructed a boundary wall around the society. And now we have to fight this long legal battle.”
On September 5, 2017, NCLT admitted an insolvency petition against Amrapalli’s Silicon City project. The petition was filed by Bank of Baroda (BOB) at the principal bench of NCLT in Delhi.
Amrapali, which has not only delayed delivery of flats but has also been unable to clear its dues of Rs 550 crore to Noida Authority, has defaulted on Rs 155 crore on other banks too. Apart from Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Bank of Maharashtra (BOM) were also lenders. The latter had not given BOB consent to approach the NCLT with an insolvency case. Noida Authority, too, had opposed the initiation of the insolvency process.
However, Amrapali Group has assured buyers that their investments were safe. "The homebuyers should not worry, as we have adequate assets to revive the project. We have 48,000 sq m of housing land in the Silicon City project worth Rs 600 crore. Therefore, we will be able to deal with the situation effectively," said an official of the Amrapali Group.
