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Ajnara India dragged into insolvency by homebuyers

By Rishabh Chamoli | 2022-09-21

The Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted the petition of homebuyers of Ajnara Ambrosia in Noida, to initiate insolvency proceedings against Ajnara India Ltd. In 2021, a group of 113 buyers approached the NCLT against delay in the handover of houses in the project. The project was supposed to be completed in 2019, but the construction work stopped in 2017. The insolvency proceedings mark yet another chapter in a long list of Noida based developers being taken to the bankruptcy courts by homebuyers who have been awaiting their promised homes for years

Ajnara India joins the list of Noida developers driven to insolvency proceedings by homebuyers. The Delhi branch of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted the petition filed by a group of buyers under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016. As per the buyers, the builder took advance payments from them amounting to more than Rs 50 crores which can be classified as financial debt. But the developer failed to hand over the possession of the homes within the project deadline.

Ajnara Ambrosia Housing Project
Ajnara Ambrosia is a group housing residential project which was planned to be developed on a plot size of 1,42,967 sq m at Sector 118 in Noida. Themed around Spanish living, the project was co promoted by Ajnara India. The developer launched the residential project with a layout of 14 towers (to be built in phases) in 2014. It garnered a lot of attention as it is located along the Faridabad Noida Ghaziabad Expressway. However, construction was halted in 2017.

The Builder Buyer Agreement specified that the builder would hand over 1,600 units within three years from the agreement signing date. Some units in the first phase have been handed over to buyers. But most of the 1100 buyers are still awaiting their homes, despite paying almost 90 percent of the amount.

NCLT proceedings
In 2021, a group of 113 homebuyers approached the NCLT with prayers to initiate insolvency proceedings against Ajnara India Ltd. In April of the same year, the NCLT issued notices to Ajnara, who responded in October 2021. Now the petition has been finally admitted by the bench which has named an interim resolution professional as well.
As per the NCLT order, the developer took advance of Rs 50,47,48,426 from the home buyers, but failed to keep commitments regarding construction and delivery of the apartments.
Buyer Manish Kumar Gupta and 112 other buyers had filed the petition under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 through their lawyer, Advocate Bharat Bhushan Sethi.

Builders response
As per some reports, the builder had attributed the delays to demonetisation, Covid 19 pandemic, and National Green Tribunal orders, among other contributors.

Is Ajnara India in trouble?
In April, the Ajnara Panorama housing projects land allotment was cancelled by Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority over non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 46.8 crore.
In May this year, the Authority cancelled the allotment of land for a housing project in Greater Noida West to Ajnara Realtech. Dues amounting worth Rs 63 crore were pending for 11 years, which forced the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) to cancel the allotment.
Insolvency petitions are also pending against the Ajnara Group associate companies, namely Sequel Buildcon Pvt Ltd and Ajnara Realtech.
As per UPRERAs website, more than 30 complaints have been received against Ajnara India, and 100 plus complaints have been registered against Ajnara Realtech. Over 99 people have lodged complaints regarding the Ajnara Ambrosia project with the Authority.