Reliable Builders

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code places consumers right at the end of the queue when it comes to distribution of assets if a company is liquidated, a fault the corporate ministry might correct soon. According to media reports, proposed amendments by a panel will be presented before the ministry to improve the resolution mechanism. Homebuyers could be brought in the category of secured financial creditors in insolvency proceedings.

Following an order of the Allahabad High Court, the Noida Authority has said it would not issue occupancy certificate to real estate company Omaxe for its project Grand Omaxe in Noida till the builder pays dues to the tune of Rs 250 crore. About 300 residents are already occupying flats in this project since 2012 without the units being registered.

Stray menace has been on the rise in all parts of India. However, this is one problem that civic bodies in the country have absolutely failed to tackle. Estimates show over 20,000 people die of rabies in India every year. In 2015, Global Alliance for Rabies Control reported that India accounted for 35 per cent of human rabies deaths, more than any other country. According to estimates by the United Nations, about 15,000 people are bitten, usually by dogs, in India each year.

In a move that would further tighten the noose around unscrupulous builders who promise assured returns to buyers and stop payments midway, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has ruled that assured returns promised by a developer to a buyer through a proper agreement is financial debt. Buyers can file for an insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in case the builder fails to honour the agreement.

The ongoing audit exercise by global consultancy Currie & Brown on behalf of the Noida Authority shows only two of 15 builders might have diverted money collected from buyers to employ it elsewhere. When a large number of homebuyers approached Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last year over delayed projects, most of them suspected fund diversion was the key reason behind developers failing to meet completion scheduled. There are about 94 stuck residential projects in Noida, in which about 78,000 people have invested.