To recover their dues of more than Rs 5,400 crore from the Amrapali Group, the Noida and Greater Noida authorities have decided to approach the Supreme Court (SC) that had cancelled Amrapali’s registration and asked state-run National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to complete its housing projects in the twin cities.
“We do need more clarity on how our dues will be cleared, who will apply for the registry and how or to whom the completion certificate will be issued. Our legal team is working on the representation that will be made on the next date of hearing,” Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari said.
The SC came down heavily on banks, Noida and Greater Noida authorities for the Amrapali mess, saying they had violated the doctrine of public trust by permitting diversion of homebuyers’ funds.
“Authorities and bankers have not acted in furtherance of public interest and failed to perform duties enjoined upon them,” the order said.
The SC had restrained the two authorities from staking any claim in the Amrapali housing projects. Instead, the court had asked the authorities to recover their dues from the sale of the developer’s other properties that have already been attached.
“We hold that Noida and Greater Noida authorities shall have no right to sell the flats of homebuyers or the land leased out for the realisation of their dues. Their dues shall have to be recovered from the sale of other properties which have been attached. The direction holds good for the recovery of the dues of various banks also,” the judgment said.
The dues of Noida Authority till April 2019 are Rs 2,191.38 crore and that of Greater Noida Authority Rs 3,234.71 crore as on January 1, 2019. According to the court, there are 12 properties of the developer that have been attached and can be sold by the authorities to recover their dues.
But officials said the value of these attached properties is not enough to clear the authorities’ dues. So, the authorities intend to file an application seeking clarity on recovery of the dues from the court, before the next hearing scheduled for August 9.