NOIDA: “I invested in a project and a building sanctioned by the Noida Authority. What can I say?” The flat that Arvind Kushwaha has invested in, and waited a decade for, will not be delivered to him. It will instead be razed.
“More than the developer Supertech, I am miffed with the response of the Noida Authority. I am tired of this back and forth. Whatever is being offered, I will settle for that,” Kushwaha said on Tuesday after the twin towers of Emerald Court, Apex and Ceyane, were ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court.
The twin towers were planned over 40 floors, which would comprise 915 flats and 21 shops. The two towers saw a total of 633 bookings. So far, 133 investors have exited by accepting alternative houses in other Supertech projects while 248 have taken refunds.
But there are another 252 buyers like Kushwaha who are still waiting for their money to be returned to them. The Supreme Court has set a two-month deadline for all the refunds, with a 12% annual interest, to be paid.
Vasundhara resident Vandana, who had booked a flat on the 25th floor, is another buyer expecting a refund. But she will have to cough up much more to buy a house because she will not get flats in the area at the rates offered when she invested in the twin towers.
Supertech said in a statement it will file a review petition. “Our legal team is evaluating the order,” said RK Arora, chairman of the Supertech Group chairman and president of the real estate association, Naredco, in Uttar Pradesh. “In the meantime, we are going to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court and do what has been ordered,” he added.
Asked about the impact on the developer’s other projects, Arora said those are insulated from Tuesday’s order as all projects are handled through separate accounts. “We have the capacity of fulfilling our obligations and had made provisions in our books soon after the Allahabad high court passed its order,” added Arora.
After the Supreme Court’s order, which was critical of its role, the Noida Authority on Tuesday said the twin towers, Apex and Ceyane, will be demolished within three months and a compliance report will be submitted to the court before November 30.
The planning division of the authority will also examine the role of the officials who were deputed in the authority between 2009 and 2012 and before that when the building plan was amended to fix responsibilities and initiate prosecution against erring officials.
In the first week of August, after the apex court had made stinging observations against the Noida Authority during its twin tower hearings, the state government had sought a report from the Authority to explain the role of officials deputed when the wrongdoing and violations of building regulations took place.
