After more than 19 years of delay, the Bombay High Court has now made it possible to reconstruct a housing society in Bandra East.
The Kherwadi-based Sukhsadan Cooperative Housing Society approached the high court earlier this year after the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) was requested by the resolution professional (RP) appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for its former developer, AA Estates, to reject any redevelopment proposals last year. This was due to the fact that AA Estates was subject to a moratorium until the conclusion of the corporate insolvency resolution process in December 2022.
On the other hand, the society said that it had terminated its redevelopment contract with AA Estates in December 2019 and had chosen Tristar Development as its new developer in November 2021. It further stated that although it had given AA Estates the go-ahead to begin the reconstruction project in October 2005 with a 24-month deadline for completion, the company did nothing until January 2012, save for obtaining a no-objection certificate from MHADA.
Meanwhile, in August 2017, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) deemed the building to be in dangerous disrepair. Nineteen out of the sixty families who had lived in the block had left to live in rented spaces, but as the developer had not taken any action to redevelop the land, they too had finally returned to society. In the end, Sukhsadan CHS named Tristar Development and ended the contract with AA Estates.
Following that, Tristar Development spent over ₹11.80 crore redeveloping the society after obtaining a number of licenses and clearances. The NCLT appointed the RP for AA Estates on December 6, 2022. After four months, the RP wrote to MHADA representatives to put a stop to the reconstruction project.
Sukhsadan CHS argued that the development rights of their property could not be regarded as AA Estates’ property because the company did not fulfil its obligations, including paying transit rent and finishing the construction within the allotted time. This argument was accepted by a division bench of justices MS Sonak and Kamal Khata.
Source: Hindustan Times
