Yogi govt. seeks settlement of dues of Rs 778 crore from ARCIL UPSIDA demands priority in purchase of industrial plot at Ghaziabad, offers Rs 390.50 crore, 10 % more than the highest bidder UPSIDA also seeks cancellation of the price quoted by the highest bidder on the property

New Delhi, September  20, 2023:  The Yogi Government has sought settlement of dues worth Rs 778 crore from Asset Reconstruction Company India Limited (ARCIL) on Industrial Plot No. A-1 located in Surajpur Industrial Area of Ghaziabad.

The Government has also demanded that the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) be given priority in the sale of the concerned plot by allowing it to take part in the bidding process.

Manoj Kumar Singh, Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC) in the State Government, has written a letter to ARCIL, saying that UPSIDA has a serious interest in the property and therefore, the dues of the authority should be cleared and it should be given the option to purchase the plot.

The official has also appealed to ARCIL to cancel the price quoted by the highest bidder on the property and the plot should be rebid to allow UPSIDA to participate in the exercise.

It is noteworthy that the total outstanding of UPSIDA on the plot till March 31, 2023 was Rs 777.84 crores, which included transfer charges, interest, lease rent, time extension fees etc. The total size of this plot is 82.56 hectares (204 acres) with a cover area of 19.65%.

It is worth mentioning here that the property belonged to UPSIDA itself, which was allotted to M/s DCM Toyota Limited on July 06, 1982.

Proposed price for the plot is lower than UPSIDA’s offer

The IIDC has expressed apprehension that the Recovery Officer, DRT-2, Mumbai M/s Shakuntalam Landcraft Pvt. Ltd. is finalizing the sale in favour of Rs 359 crore, which is much lower than UPSIDA’s offer price of Rs 390.50 crore, 10 percent above the reserve price.

It is noteworthy that earlier on November 23, 2020, the UPSIDA board decided to authorize the authority to participate in the DRT-led auction with an amount 10% above the reserve price of Rs 350 crore. UPSIDA had sent a letter on January 23, 2023, also seeking permission for repurchase of the plot, but ARCIL did not respond.

Subsequently, Recovery Officer, Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) issued the re-sale notice on July 06, 2023 with a reserve price of Rs 355 crore. It was mentioned in the sale notice that a case regarding dues of Rs 777.84 crore of the authority is pending in the DRT Court, in respect of which an appeal has been filed in ARCIL.

Later, UPSIDA wrote to DRT through e-mail on August 22, 2023 about its desire to participate in the bidding and requested to reschedule the due date of the bidding. However, it was later revealed that the DRT had initiated the sale process without accepting the authority’s requests.

The plot was allotted to DCM Toyota Limited in 1982

The plot was allotted by Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Corporation (UPSIDC), which is known as Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Authority now, to M/s DCM Toyota Limited on July 06, 1982. On April 05, 1989, permission was granted to mortgage the plot in favor of ICICI Bank. The constitution of the company was changed from M/s DCM Toyota Limited to M/s Daewoo Motors India Limited. Permission for the name change was granted along with a transfer levy of Rs 6.97 crore.

However, M/s Daewoo Motors has not yet transferred the levy amount collected by it to the UPSIDC. DRT, Mumbai sold this land to M/s Penn India Motors Pvt. Ltd. UPSIDC vide letter dated 28 June 2010 gave consent for the transfer with payment of transfer levy of Rs 8.36 crore and pre-due amount of Rs 22.24 crore. M/s Pen India deposited 25% of the transfer levy i.e. Rs 2.12 crore and did not make any further payment of dues to UPSIDA.

The total outstanding on the plot as on March 31, 2023 is Rs 777.84 crore, which includes transfer charges, interest, lease rent, time extension fees etc., which was to be paid to M/s Pen India Motors Pvt. Ltd. UPSIDA has informed the DRT Court and ARCIL in writing about the above situation and the pending dues.

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)