NCLT Approves Sale of Lavasa to Darwin Platform Infrastructure

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the sale of Lavasa, India's first private hill station, to Darwin Platform Infrastructure, resolving the concerns of hundreds of purchasers and lenders. After the lenders voted in favor of the resolution plan, the NCLT issued an order approving Darwin's resolution plan. It calls for a distribution of Rs 18.14 billion over eight years, of which Rs 9.29 billion will go to lenders and Rs 4.38 billion will go toward giving homebuyers completely built homes. The claims of 837 homebuyers have been acknowledged. They have admitted Rs 4.9 billion in claims. The company has acknowledged a total of Rs 66.42 billion in claims, including those from lenders and operating creditors. After getting environmental clearance, the resolution plan calls for the delivery of completely constructed homes to homeowners within a five-year window on an actual cost basis. Homebuyers will be required to contribute to Darwin's actual future development costs in order to receive built properties within the project. “In order to provide a transparent mechanism for the construction costs, the resolution applicant proposes that it shall constitute a ‘construction cost determination committee’ of 4 members consisting of equal representation of FCCA/homebuyers’ representatives and the resolution applicant’s management team,” the order said. The NCLT's technical and judicial members, Shyam Babu Gautam and Kuldip Kumar Kareer, respectively, issued the order. The Darwin group, which has its headquarters in Mumbai, had previously expressed interest in the tender processes for Jet Airways and Reliance Capital. The organization is involved in various enterprises, including retail, real estate, and infrastructure. The head of the company, Ajay Harinath Singh, is a first-generation entrepreneur, according to their corporate website. Union Bank of India, L&T Finance, Arcil, Bank of India, and Axis Bank are among Lavasa's largest financial creditors. Lavasa, which is situated in Mulshi Valley in the Western Ghats close to Pune, was built by Hindustan Construction Company with the intention of creating a city in the style of Europe. Lavasa Corporation had been given approval to erect dams on the Warsgaon river and develop the necessary municipal infrastructure. Raj Infrastructure Development India, one of Lavasa's creditors, filed a bankruptcy petition against the company after it failed to fulfill its payment obligations. The petition was admitted in August 2018. See also: Ashiana Housing to allocate Rs 2.75 bn for senior living project in PuneMahaRERA cautions homebuyers against 308 projects facing insolvency