Treat flat owners at par with banks under insolvency law: Assocham to NCLT

With thousands of home buyers of Jaypee Infratech languishing with stuck projects, industry body Assocham on Sunday said the government and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) must treat flat owners at par with banks under the insolvency law.

An Ordinance, if needed, should be brought to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for protecting the right of home buyers, it suggested.

All efforts should be made to revive the housing projects of Jaypee Infratech whose 32,000 customers have not got possession of their flats, it said.

Earlier this month, the NCLT admitted the insolvency petition filed by IDBI Bank against debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech, part of the Jaypee group. Bank of Baroda has approached the NCLT against Amrapali group for default on loan repayment.

Assocham said in a statement that the government, the NCLT and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board (IBB) should "treat home buyers in real estate projects at par, if not above banks in the pecking order, by providing a separate carve-out for those stuck in the incomplete construction".

Any legal hurdle should be immediately removed by a Presidential Ordinance, if need be, it added.