NOIDA: The Supreme Court has stayed coercive action against the developer of Sports City project in Sector 150, granting it interim relief but allowing proceedings to continue.
Last month, the Allahabad high court had ordered a CBI inquiry into an alleged nexus between builders and Noida Authority officials, where multiple benefits were purportedly granted to developers in violation of the scheme.
On Friday, the apex court — which was hearing a plea by Lotus Green Constructions against the HC order — said the investigating agency could proceed, but no coercive steps should be taken.
“Permission to file special leave petition is granted… Issue notice. In the meantime, the proceedings shall go on, but no coercive steps shall be taken,” read the order by Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal.
On Feb 24, the HC dismissed a plea by Lotus Green seeking relief from Noida Authority, in a case clubbed with seven other petitions by various promoters. It asked the CBI to lodge a complaint against all Authority officials and builders involved in the allotment, development, and sanction of the Sports City project, as well as any other party linked to what the court called a “scam”.
The bench also ordered the Authority to issue notices against all stakeholders in the Sector 150 Sports City, demanding outstanding dues within a week in keeping with the contract, including penal interest. It granted a reasonable timeframe for developers to clear payments and warned that allotments would be automatically cancelled if the dues weren’t paid.
Last week, the Authority served notices to developers of four Sports City projects across Noida, including Lotus Green, instructing them to clear dues within a month. These dues included premiums and interest on them, lease rent, 64.7% additional compensation, and time extension fees. Developers who fail to pay within the stipulated period will face further action, the HC specified.
It was in June 2014 that the Authority launched the Sports City scheme for Sector 150, spanning 12 lakh sqm. The plan allocated 70% of the land to sports facilities and 30% for group housing and commercial use.
Lotus Green consortium received an allotment letter in Sept 2014.
Over the years, the land was subdivided among 24 developers, 13 of whom secured layout approvals from the Authority. While they went ahead with commercial and residential aspects of the projects, sports facilities were not built as intended.
More than 10,000 homebuyers are stuck in uncertainty, while dues worth Rs 2,700 crore are yet to be cleared with the Authority. Some consortium members, including Samriddhi, Eldeco, Homekraft, and Godrej, began construction, but large portions of land are yet to be developed.
Last year, the public accounts committee of the legislative assembly — while reviewing CAG’s objections to the Sports City project in Sept 2020 — asked the Authority to approve the revised layout plan submitted by Lotus Greens if it met norms of the scheme.
The proposal went before the Authority’s board, which decided to seek the govt’s approval. However, the govt did not grant clearance because of alleged irregularities.
A spokesperson for Lotus Greens said, “The company has full faith in the Apex Court. We are hopeful that the court’s intervention will bring long-awaited justice to the consortium partners and their homebuyers. Land was allocated to the company in 2014, and the Master Plan was approved in 2017. However, a ban was imposed in Jan 2021. Before the ban, and after the sanctioning of layout maps, construction of the cricket ground, multi-purpose playfield, and golf course was underway, despite COVID-related restrictions. During the PAC hearing, the Noida Authority acknowledged that work on these sports facilities was in progress and would have been completed within six months had the ban not been imposed.”
“As the lead member, we request the court to take up this matter and deliver justice to our consortium partners and homebuyers by lifting the blanket ban on SC-02 Sports City, allowing all pending projects to proceed,” the spokesperson further stated.
