Mumbai: Shapoorji Pallonji slammed by homebuyers on Twitter for delays in handing over possession

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group led by Shapoor Mistry after the death of his younger brother Cyrus Mistry, started off in the 19th century by building pavements in Mumbai. It entered the real estate market in 1970 and has been building major housing projects in the financial capital, with its latest endeavour being the revival of India's tallest ultra luxurious skyscraper.

But while the group reportedly plans to sell shares in Tata Sons to repay debts and fund its expansion, it has allegedly left hundreds of homebuyers in a lurch.

Homebuyers in the dark

• People who bought flats at the Shapoorji Pallonji Group's US Open project in Mumbai's suburb Mulund, are complaining about a delay in handing over possession by the company.

• The residential building was originally launched by Nirmal Lifestyle in 2009, but the firm sold it to Shapoorji Pallonji's Ricardo Constructions as it went bankrupt.

• Now homebuyers are tweeting about lack of any significant construction at the site four years after it was taken over by Shapoorji Pallonji.

Procedural hurdles or excuses?

• They have claimed that the group had promised to hand over possession by 2021, but they are still awaiting completion of the project.

• US Open's registration with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority has also been extended till 2026, but now the group is waiting for a commencement certificate according to homebuyers.

• About 200 homebuyers who paid Rs 125 crore and have been waiting to move in for decades, are asking why a group worth $30 billion can't complete a $5 million project after four years.

• On its part, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group says that it is committed to the completion of the project with interests of all stakeholders in mind, but didn't provide any expected date of completion, according to a Moneycontrol report.

Official statement from Ricardo Constructions:

"Nirmal Lifestyle was the erstwhile developer of the US Open project since 2010, and the current customers of the US Open had purchased units from Nirmal Lifestyle. The stressed project was acquired by Ricardo Constructions along with existing flat purchasers in 2019, pursuant to action taken by the lender of Nirmal Lifestyle.

"The project suffered from a lack of approvals on account of issues affecting the larger layout as well as COVID-19. We have relentlessly worked with the relevant authorities between 2019 and 2022 to delink the project from the issues affecting the legacy larger layout, including filing appeals with the Revenue Department, and have obtained the necessary delinking and approvals only a few months back. Due to this regulatory issue, the statutory time limit for completion of the project expired.

"Please note that since the time of acquisition of the project by us in 2019, due to the aforesaid reasons, in line with relevant regulations, we have not made any collections from existing flat purchasers, nor have we undertaken any sale of units.

"Ricardo as a responsible developer, remains committed to the project and will take matters forward, keeping in mind the interest of all stakeholders," a Ricardo Constructions spokesperson said.