 "Supertech: Affected buyers split on refund order")
The entry and exit of both towers (40 storeys each, though only 24 and 17, respectively, have been constructed), as well as the sales office of Emerald Court, were sealed by the Noida Authority on Tuesday. About 100 metres away and a few minutes’ drive in a golf cart inside the Emerald Court complex, which houses the other 15 towers spread over 14 acres, is the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) office from where it started four years earlier.
Vashisth Sharma, a pilot with Jet Airways, and S B S Teotia, a retired deputy inspector-general of police (CRPF), along with other officebearers at the RWA, were instrumental in fighting Supertech.
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After years of pursuing the developer and the Noida Authority to share the design plan for the new towers proposed to be constructed in the complex, RWA approached the Allahabad HC in November 2012 against the illegalities. The judgement came in RWA’s favour last Friday. The Association remains on its toes, filing caveats in the Supreme Court (SC) to make sure it is heard before any other verdict is given and before buyers of those new towers are made a party in the case.
On the other side are about 700 harassed customers who bought flats in the new towers. To make their concern public, around 50 of them got together on Wednesday at a restaurant-cum-bar in the happening Sector 18 market at Noida, meeting journalists. On Tuesday, Supertech cancelled a scheduled press conference without giving a reason. While one set of buyers are not keen on a refund but insist on their flats, another lot are happy to get the money back. The HC order asked Supertech to refund money to the buyers with 14 per cent interest annually.
Possession of the flats has already been delayed by over a year. Those wanting their flats, rather than a refund, are planning to approach the SC to make them a party in the case.
The new towers have 857 flats against 700 in the older ones, thereby raising the issue of infrastructure sharing between more people than it was meant for. Common infrastructure for 15 old towers and two new ones include a club, gym and swimming pool. The original project plan did not project such a scenario, noted the residents.
Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, a buyer in one of the new towers, says: ”We don’t want a refund. With the refunded money, we won’t be able to buy a new home. We had booked the flat in 2009; prices have gone much higher since then. We just want our flats.” However, those who bought for an investment are happy to dispose the disputed property and make a profit through the refund. Supertech has decided to approach the apex court, challenging the order. Company's chairman RK Arora says the building was constructed after securing approvals from the Noida Authority. There is no word from the company on refunds yet.
The judgement by the Allahabad High Court was passed while allowing the writ petition of "EmeraldCourt Owner Resident Welfare Association" wherein it was alleged that the approval and construction of the two towers was in complete violation of UP Apartment Acts. The petitioner had claimed that the Noida Authority had given permission for raising the heights of the two towers, which were earlier supposed to have only 24 floors, "without maintaining the mandatory distance of 16 metres) from an adjoining building block, making it "unsafe, apart from blocking air and light". After the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) was increased by Noida Authority, Supertech had applied for permissions to add more floors to the new towers.