Written By : Estate Masters India
NOIDA: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has allowed Suraksha Group to start construction at Jaypee Wish Town, where more than 20,000 homebuyers have been waiting for their flats for over a decade. The tribunal also directed Suraksha and the Yamuna Expressway Authority (YXPA) to settle their differences and reach consensus by the next date of hearing, failing which, it said, it will pass an order on the merit of the case.
The judgment indicates that the long corporate insolvency resolution process for Jaypee Infratech Ltd, which began in 2017, will soon reach a conclusion, allowing homebuyers and Suraksha to focus on completion timelines.
Suraksha – which took over the stalled projects of JIL in March last year after a vote in favour of it by the committee of creditors – has prepared a resolution plan to start construction at Wish Town. The company has laid down a few conditions, a decision on which is yet to be taken by UP govt. In the absence of this consensus, no construction has taken place despite the takeover. “We make it clear that even if by the next date, no settlement is brought on record, Appeal shall proceed to be heard on merit. We also make it clear that it shall be open for the successful resolution applicant (Suraksha) to proceed and continue to implement the plan and the construction,” read Tuesday’s order by Justice Ashok Bhushan, the NCLAT chairperson, and members Barun Mitra and Arun Baroka.
The next hearing is scheduled for April 18. Representatives of YXPA told the tribunal that govt would soon be ready with a cabinet note on terms of Suraksha’s resolution plan. When the homebuyers’ counsel pointed out that no work had been initiated on the ground even though there was no order against it, the tribunal gave the green signal. It also asked the implementation and monitoring committee – comprising the insolvency resolution professional (IRP), Suraksha managing director and representatives of buyers and lenders – to file within two weeks a status report on Wish Town flats. In March last year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had allowed Suraksha to take over JIL’s stalled projects. But YXPA – which has administrative control over land where the flats will come up – challenged the order at the appellate tribunal. It argued that since Suraksha was taking over Jaypee Infratech, it should also pay Rs 1,689 crore to around 10,000 farmers who had been demanding 64.7% additional compensation for land acquired from them.
In July 2023, Surkasha placed some key conditions before YXPA, such as increasing by 15 years the concession period for collecting toll on the Yamuna Expressway, revising the toll charges every year, releasing balance FAR (floor area ratio) without any charge and providing an additional 79 acres – that JIL was to get under the agreement it had signed – to it in Noida. A couple of months later, the YXPA board agreed to these proposals. It, however, clarified that the conditions could be fulfilled should Suraksha pay the additional compensation to the farmers at one go. Suraksha agreed to pay the compensation, but in phases. The company also came up with a revised resolution plan, which was forwarded to the state govt for approval. A decision on this is awaited. Sanjeev Sahani, a buyer and one of the petitioners in the Wish Town case, said, “NCLAT should pass the order at the next hearing. It should not give more time to the Authority or govt to take a decision on this. Jaypee Infratech has more than Rs 1,000 crore in its accounts. I don’t understand why this amount can’t be used for construction. Homebuyers have waited long enough.”