NOIDA: Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has handed over to the CBI land allotment files, lease deeds, approved building plans, payment records and details of the official correspondence between the Authority and developers of four residential projects where flats were offered under a subvention scheme.
On April 29, the Supreme Court directed CBI to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate an alleged builder-bank nexus that is suspected to have misused the subvention scheme to facilitate large-scale misappropriation of funds at the expense of homebuyers.
The apex court tasked the SIT with uncovering the extent of wrongdoings in loan disbursements and project delays that impacted thousands of homebuyers.
The court’s directive came as it heard a bunch of petitions filed by thousands of homebuyers who had booked flats under subvention plans in various housing projects in NCR and alleged, they were being forced by banks to pay EMIs despite not getting possession of their flats because of inordinate delay by developers.
Under the subvention scheme, banks disburse the sanctioned amount directly to the accounts of builders, who pay EMIs on the amount till flats are handed over to homebuyers. As builders started defaulting in paying EMIs as per the tripartite agreement, banks had initiated action against homebuyers to recover the payments.
YEIDA CEO Arun Vir Singh told TOI that in a formal communication last week, the CBI’s EO–I team had sought documents related to land allotment and project development for Supertech’s UP Country in Sector 17A, Oasis Realtech’s Grandstand in Sector 22D, and the Jaypee Group’s Kove and Kassia projects in Sector 25.
Supertech, which is to construct over 3,500 flats, villas and plots in its UP County project on 100 acres with IVR Prime Developers (AVADI) Private Limited and Information Bureau (India) Ltd owes the Authority Rs 466 crore. Some of the units in the project have been handed over to buyers, but none of the flats are registered. At Grandstand, all 1,235 flats are ready. Jaypee’s Kassia and Kove are still incomplete.
On Tuesday, Singh said the documents were recently submitted to the CBI.
In its order, the Supreme Court had asked CBI to register seven preliminary enquiries (PEs), one of them specifically to investigate all projects of Supertech Ltd, which was named prominently in the petitions. Five other PEs are to cover projects in Noida, Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad. A seventh PE will focus on projects outside the NCR, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mohali, and Allahabad, that do not involve Supertech.
The court had ordered the govts of UP and Haryana to depute police personnel to support the CBI’s investigation, which could bring many realtors under the scanner. It also mandated the appointment of nodal officers from various regulatory and development authorities.
These officers, holding at least the rank of deputy secretary, are to be drawn from RBI, Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP and Haryana), development authorities of Noida, Greater Noida, YEIDA, and Gurugram, as well as the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Their role is to provide timely information and cooperation to the investigation team.The court specified that the scope of the investigation must include a thorough review of tripartite subvention agreements signed between homebuyers, builders, and banks or housing finance companies (HFCs).
It also directed the agency to probe violations of RBI and National Housing Bank (NHB) guidelines, particularly concerning the upfront disbursal of home loans without verifying construction progress. During the investigation, CBI will also scrutinise joint development agreements (JDAs) to determine liability and trace financial accountability. CBI has been also directed to submit regular status reports to the court.
