Unitech homebuyers oppose NBCC due diligence fee move

Unitech homebuyers have opposed the NBCC proposal, submitted to the Supreme Court, seeking Rs 50 crore as due diligence fee for project management consultancy and have sought their inclusion in the court-appointed committee for completion of the pending projects.

Counsels representing homebuyers contested the NBCC proposal and termed it unjustified.

"NBCC never sought any advance payment in the case of Amrapali Group. Also, how will this court-appointed committee raise funds to complete the project. Moreover, none of the homebuyers has been made member of the committee, despite being the main stakeholder. We will file our objection before the top court", said M.L. Lahoti, counsel for homebuyers.

Taking this objection on record, the Bench, comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice M.R. Shah, allowed homebuyers to place their suggestions before the court on the proposal by August 2.

Speaking to , Vivek Tyagi, President, All India Association of Unitech's Homebuyers, said despite being the main petitioner in the case it had not been included in this committee.

"The court should penalise banks, local government authorities and others involved in this housing scam and direct them to pay this due diligence fee. Homebuyers' are not in a position to pay any more," Tyagi said.

The NBCC has sought appointment of a monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of the proposal. The NBCC has asked this committee to deposit Rs 50 for due diligence of the identified projects, including the estimated cost of pending works, which would lead to stage 1 approval. The amount, it said should be deposited within one month of stage 1 approval.

Later, the NBCC will award the work to an eligible bidder and begin construction.

During the argument, the court noted the discord between homebuyers nearly 70 per cent wants possession and the rest return of their money and suggested the association to engage one counsel for a streamlined hearing.

Citing complexities involved in Amrapali, Ashwarya Sinha, another counsel for homebuyers, said, "We are not willing to approve this arrangement proposed by NBCC. Where will this Rs 50 crore come from? Moreover, Amrapali projects have already been handed over to NBCC, which is yet to prove its efficiency in handling complexities in that project."

The court has listed the matter for next hearing on August 9.

(Sumit saxena can be contacted at sumit.s@.in)

( With inputs from IANS )