The Supreme Court on Thursday gave a lease of life to the Amrapali housing projects, constructed by the government’s construction arm NBCC, by directing the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to grant approval of construction plans for additional flats in seven Amrapali projects, the sale of which could fetch a substantial amount for financing the pending projects stuck due to financial crunch.
A bench headed by justice Bela M Trivedi passed orders approving the minutes of a combined meeting of NBCC, officials of Noida and Greater Noida authorities, and lawyers representing homebuyers, held on August 26 at the residence of attorney general (AG) R Venkataramani, who is the court-appointed receiver entrusted with the task of completing the stalled projects of Amrapali.
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In the meeting, both Noida and Greater Noida agreed to process the building plans for construction over additional floor area ratio (FAR) available in two Noida projects and five Greater Noida projects of Amrapali on payment of processing fee, cost towards purchase of additional FAR to be paid in two instalments in January and March 2025, submission of no-objection certificates from the fire department and airport authority, and verification report of structural safety. Besides, the environment clearance obtained by the erstwhile management of Amrapali had also expired.
Making an exception for Amrapali, being a court-monitored project, the bench directed the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to sanction the building plans within 30 days of the requisite project-wise NOCs to be supplied by NBCC. Further, the court directed the state environment impact assessment authority to grant environment clearance within two months of submission of application.
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The bench, also comprising justice SC Sharma, said, “It may be noted that this is a court-monitored litigation, and the directions/observations cannot be cited as precedent in any other case considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case.”
The decision of the court is expected to give sufficient funds to NBCC construct the stalled projects and repay the loans secured from a consortium of banks. While NBCC lawyers refused to disclose the revenue to be generated from the additional FAR, in an earlier affidavit submitted to court, NBCC claimed that it seeks to generate over ₹1,380 crore from additional FAR.
NBCC has identified unused FAR at six locations, (five in Greater Noida namely Centurian Park, Golf Homes, Leisure Valley, Dream Valley, Leisure Park, and one location in Noida at Silicon City). In Noida’s Princely Estate, NBCC successfully secured over ₹40 crore. It further clarified that the additional FAR will be developed vertically to ensure the amenities available to residents along with green area does not get compromised.
Senior advocate Ravindra Kumar, appearing for the Noida and GNIDA, informed the court that the court also needs to clarify that the additional purchase of FAR will not require individual consent of all homebuyers as held by the top court in its 2021 decision while demolishing two towers of a Supertech project in Noida. The court said that advocates ML Lahoty and Kumar Mihir, appearing for homebuyers, had given consent on behalf of homebuyers and they were also present in the meeting of August 26.
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The back story
It was on March 29, 2023, the top court directed Noida and GNIDA to decide on the building or layout plans for the unused FAR within 15 days. The court receiver and NBCC senior advocate Siddharth Dave informed the court about the delaying tactics shown by the two authorities in raising hurdles for granting permissions.
In August, the bench talked tough to the authorities observing that the land-owning agencies were adopting an “obstructionist” approach and summoned the chief executive officers (CEO) of both authorities to court. On August 14, the bench directed the UP authorities to try to narrow down the issues and find a solution for early completion of Amrapali flats.
In a note submitted on the previous hearing date by Venkataramani, the court-appointed receiver, it was stated that since the top court cancelled the lease of Amrapali in 2019, out of 46,575 units belonging to the erstwhile Amrapali Group, 37,256 units were stuck since a decade. Between 2020 and June 2024, he submitted that 85% of the project (about 20,890 units) was complete with funds generated from various sources while the remaining units will be finished by March 2025, subject to availability of funds and unused FAR.
The receiver submitted a report indicating that a total amount of ₹8,114 crores had come into the project from multiple sources of which ₹8,024 crores was spent. According to him, the project still required a total sum of ₹3,300 crores to overcome the remaining construction cost along with repayment of loans.
“This is a huge relief for the homebuyers, who have been waiting for years to get possession of their homes. The Supreme Court’s order is a significant step towards completing the pending projects and we appreciate the court’s efforts in finding a solution to the financial crunch faced by the projects. The approval of construction plans for additional flats will not only generate funds for completing the pending projects but also bring hope to thousands of homebuyers. We are grateful that the Noida and Greater Noida authorities have agreed to process the building plans”, said Gaurav Asati, president AOA, Amrapali Zodiac, Noida.