Why not auction directors' properties: Amrapali homebuyers take to Twitter

Why not auction directors’ properties: Amrapali homebuyers take to Twitter

NOIDA: Homebuyers in Amrapali projects started a Twitter campaign on Monday against a proposal by a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee to impose an additional cost of Rs 200/sqft to create a ‘sinking-cum-reserve fund’.

In a circular uploaded on the court receiver’s website, the committee said that the corpus would help deal with the shortage of funds in the future. It also said that the fund was needed because construction costs had gone up significantly in the past few years.

“The cost of construction has increased substantially since the initial booking of the unit was made. The committee has also obtained funding to complete the construction and is required to pay interest as well. There is likely to be a shortfall if overall collections are not sufficient enough to complete the projects,” the circular read.

The circular, however, clarified that the money would be refunded to the buyers if it was not utilised. “In case of part utilization of the amount, proportionate amount shall be refunded to all the homebuyers,” the circular stated.

With hashtags like #StopHarassingAmrapaliBuyers and #No2SinkingFund, the buyers started the campaign on Twitter. They pointed out that the additional payment would put an extra burden on them.

“This is not practical,” tweeted a homebuyer. KK Kaushal, another buyer, wrote, “Is it justified for the monitoring committee to impose a financial burden on flat buyers forgetting their troubles of the past 10-12 years?”

Some buyers said that instead of putting an additional burden on them, the money should be generated by auctioning the properties of the directors.

“The buyers have been fighting in the Supreme Court for six years and have staged demonstrations from street to Parliament. Buyers are paying EMI, rent for 12 years, after that how is it justified to ask for additional money. If the monitoring committee wants to make the buyers the scapegoat, then how will the buyers get relief from the Supreme Court?” asked Kuldeep Munshi.

Kumar Mihir, who represented the buyers in the court, clarified that the SC was yet to sanction the proposal to charge Rs 200/sqft. “This is just a proposal. A hearing in this matter will take place tomorrow (Tuesday). We have been opposing the move. The shortfall should be met by selling the assets of the buyers and not charging the buyers. I am sure the court will look into every aspect before giving a judgment,” he added.

Mihir said it was not yet clear if the additional amount would be based on carpet or builtup area. He, however, pointed out that builtup area was mentioned in Amrapali agreements in the past. “The picture will be clear after the court receiver makes a presentation in the SC.”

Since its bankruptcy, the company has been functioning under the SC-appointed receiver and senior lawyer R Venkataramani. Contacted, Venkataramani said he would not make any comment as that could “complicate matters”.