Consensus, not refund, solution to homebuyers’ problems: SC
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday advised Amrapali group and homebuyers to arrive at a consensus over the status of the realtor’s delayed housing projects, asserting that refunding money is not the solution to the problem.
A bench led by Justice Arun Misra fixed March 17 for the meeting and asked both the groups to meet at the Supreme Court consultation room at 11 am. Justice Misra said there was an urgent need to arrive at a consensus because the court felt that homebuyers should get their flats at the earliest. “Refund of money is not the solution to the problem,” the bench said.
The meeting between the representatives of both sides, court said, will be video recorded and the parties will file a joint statement before the court on March 27. “We want to take a holistic view of the problems faced by the parties,” the court remarked, asking them to prepare the proposal in a tabular form with details of time needed to finish the projects nearing completion and those in which work is yet to start.
The court, for now, rejected the suggestion to create a portal with details of the projects and homebuyers who have not got possession of their houses. It said the court’s first preference will be to ensure completion of projects.
Homebuyers is a priority for the court, Justice Misra told the lawyer for financial institutions that have extended loan to Amrapali.
In an unprecedented intervention, the apex court on February 22 taken over supervision of construction of all viable projects
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belonging to the company. It said that it will hear cases of residential projects of Amrapali Group that are nearing completion to ensure homebuyers get possession of their homes quickly.
“Our primary objective is to make sure that homebuyers get their home at the earliest,” a bench led by Justice Arun Misra said while hearing petitions by the flat buyers who approached the court against the insolvency proceedings against Amrapali.
The bench asked the company to furnish details of its projects, money required to complete construction of each tower, money invested by the builder for each tower, money used for construction and the time required by the builder to complete the work.
The homebuyers expressed the hope that the SC intervention will help them get their promised homes sooner.
“We hope that due to the Supreme Court pressure, the Amrapali Group will deliver housing projects. Earlier, when we filed plea in the Supreme Court, the builder was fooling us,” said Abhishek Kumar President of the Noida Extension flat owners welfare association.
A representative for the realtor said they will furnish all information sought by the court and have a plan for delivery of flats.
“We have a plan ready for delivery of flats which has been submitted in the court as per directions. We will get photos of all towers and explain to buyers in the courtroom how we will make progress on delivering those flats. Since there are many housing projects, it will take three to four days for the meetings to happen in the courtroom,” said Shiv Priya, director of the Amrapali Group.
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