Noida: Ajnara Panorama home buyers' decade-old wait for flats grows longer

Noida: Ajnara Panorama home buyers’ decade-old wait for flats grows longer

NOIDA: Nearly 685 homebuyers who invested in the Ajnara Panorama project in Sector 22A have been waiting for possession of their flats and villas since 2012. Despite having paid substantial amounts, ranging from 80–100%, the buyers rued they still had to pay rent as well as EMIs for the loans they had taken. The situation became more complex after the developer
was brought under the purview of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last year. The latest report prepared by the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) said the construction at
Ajnara Panorama could stall because of a severe funds crunch. The suspended management has engaged a contractor, but progress has been alarmingly slow.

Urgent funding is required to prevent further delays and ensure the timely completion of the project.
To sustain the operations of the corporate debtor, Ajnara, and complete its real estate projects, the report
suggested generating revenue from existing homebuyers. Consequently, demands have been raised for the
payment of due and overdue amounts based on the builder-buyer agreements executed with the
homebuyers. However, homebuyers have voiced their objections to the developer’s email communications, demanding
the remaining amount of the total cost of flats and villas. They argued that the builder has already delayed
the project by over a decade, with minimal progress seen in the last three years. Despite the project being
under the supervision of the Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP), progress has been agonisingly slow.

“Most of the homebuyers have already paid approximately 90% of the total cost to the developer. There is
little guarantee that the developer will deliver after receiving the remaining payment. The developer has
mismanaged funds, a fact emphasised in CIRP’s report. The amount the developer requires to complete
the project is far greater than what the buyers owe,” said one of the affected homebuyers, Muneesh
Fauzdar.
DK Sinha, another homebuyer who booked a flat in 2013 and was promised possession in 2016, shared
concerns about adding to the financial burden on homebuyers without any resolution in sight.
“There is a need for financial closure for the project and a detailed plan on how it will be completed.
Homebuyers should have the option of receiving refunds for this excessively delayed project. The
developer has failed to secure external funds,” he added.
According to the report, demands of Rs 17.59 crore have been raised from homebuyers, but only around
Rs 45 lakh have been collected so far.
A tower-wise assessment of the construction levels at the initiation of the CIRP and the present status
reveals progress ranging from 2-7% in three towers and villas.
Ajnara has defaulted on payments amounting to Rs 42.82 crore to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial
Development Authority (YEIDA). Consequently, YEIDA issued a cancellation notice for the lease deed
last year. The developer responded by filing a writ petition with the Allahabad high court, leading the
court to direct the payment of Rs 7 crore within a month while instructing YEIDA to refrain from creating
third-party rights.