NCLT admits insolvency plea against Lavasa Corp
MUMBAI: The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday admitted an insolvency petition against Lavasa Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of Bse-listed Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd (HCC).
Lavasa is the country’s first privately-developed city, some 180 kms from Mumbai. It is held jointly by HCC (68.7%), Avantha Group (17.18%), Venkateshwara Hatcheries (7.81%) and Vithal Maniar (6.29%).
The tribunal has approved the appointment of Devendra Prasad as Interim Resolution Profes- sional (IRP) under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
The petition was filed by one of Lavasa’s lenders Raj infrastructure Development (India) Pvt. Ltd seeking to recover dues under Section 9 of the IBC.
Presiding officer MK Shrawat had reserved the order after hearing the petition on Wednesday.
Rohit Gupta, an advocate for Lavasa, argued in the tribunal that the project was disrupted by abrupt environmental issues.
He said the project subsequently resumed but could not be implemented due to non-cooperation from some of the banks.
“In view of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) recent circular, there is a default and banks will eventually file an application before the NCLT in future. In these circumstances, the present petition be admitted and any reputed IRP be appointed to carry out corporate insolvency resolution process so that interests of all stakeholders including the buy- ers, can be protected,” Gupta said. Lavasa, which owes more than ₹3,000 crore to lenders, owns about 20,000 acres in Maharashtra. A government registered valuer has estimated the real estate at about ₹9,280 crore.
“Lavasa is a very special urban development project and an initiative well ahead of its time. While shareholders’ interests have been sacrificed, we are hopeful that the pioneering efforts to grow Lavasa into a thriving smart city will now find stewardship in the hands of a new owner, enabled by NCLT,” said Arjun Dhawan, director & group chief executive of HCC in an exchange filing. MUMBAI: Yes Bank on Thursday said that the Reserve Bank of India has approved the reappointment of managing director and chief executive officer Rana Kapoor till f urther notice. Kapoor’s tenure was supposed to end on September 1.
“The bank has received the RBI’S approval that Rana Kapoor may continue as managing director and CEO of Yes Bank till further notice from RBI,” the bank said in a statement.