NCLAT starts hearing YEIDA petition against Suraksha’s bid to acquire Jaypee

NOIDA: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has started hearing a plea by Yamuna Expressway Authority (YEIDA) challenging an NCLT’s order in an insolvency resolution submitted by Suraksha Group that won the bid to take over debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL) in March last year.

The NCLT, while approving the Mumbai-based firm’s bid to take over JIL, had rejected YEIDA’s claim regarding the payment of additional compensation of Rs 1,689 crore to 10,000 farmers. It limited the amount to Rs 10 lakh while considering YEIDA as an operational creditor.

In March this year, NCLAT directed both parties to reach a settlement within one month, failing which the case will be decided on merit.

After nearly nine months of negotiations, the Authority and Suraksha Group are yet to reach a consensus regarding the payment of additional compensation. And in the absence of a settlement, construction of around 20,000 flats is stuck.

Homebuyers, who are waiting for their flats for over a decade, said they were the “biggest losers” as the deadlock dragged on.

On April 18, NCLAT started hearing the case on merit. Suraksha Group has submitted an unconditional offer to deposit Rs 1,216 crore as additional compensation with YEIDA over a period of four years. However, YEIDA rejected Suraksha’s offer.

The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday when arguments from both sides are expected to conclude, and the NCLAT likely to reserve the order.

In July last year, Suraksha submitted a comprehensive proposal to YEIDA, addressing the concerns of 20,000 homebuyers and 10,000 farmers. In Sept, the Authority’s board agreed to the key conditions of the proposal and forwarded it to UP govt for approval.

In Feb this year, YEIDA sought a revised payment schedule from Suraksha, which the group submitted the next month. The revised plan stated that Suraksha will pay Rs 1,216 crore over four years, excluding Rs 143 crore already paid by the Noida Authority to farmers as additional compensation and Rs 330 crore for 744 acres of land sold by JIL to other developers.

In its March 6 hearing, NCLAT was told the UP govt was yet to approve Suraksha’s revised proposal.

Homebuyers said over nine months have been wasted on negotiations, but YEIDA and Suraksha were yet to reach a settlement.

“Had this not been the case, NCLAT would have started the hearing in the cases months ago and passed its order. Homebuyers, who have been waiting for their homes for over 12 years, are the biggest losers in this situation,” Ashish Mohan Gupta, president of the JIL Real Estate Allottees Welfare Society, said.

There are 16,000 flats in JIL’s Wish Town project in Noida, and 2,500 in its Mirzapur and Agra projects where construction is delayed by more than a decade.