Investors left in limbo as GIFT City terminates deal over non-performance and financial defaults.
The GIFT City authority has cancelled the development agreement for the World Trade Centre (WTC) project in Gandhinagar’s Non-SEZ area, causing major concern among investors and allottees.
The termination means that WTC Noida Development Company Private Limited, the project promoter, has lost its development rights and can no longer continue construction. The decision has been officially communicated to the Gujarat Real Estate Regulatory Authority (GUJRERA).
According to a media report, more than 30 complaints have been filed with GUJRERA against the promoter, mainly over delays in possession and failure to deliver promised returns. The project is now entangled in multiple legal disputes, leaving investors uncertain about the future of their investments.
Investors express shock
CA Sunil Agrawal, an investor and petitioner in the case, voiced his dismay. “We are under utter shock following the decision which is not in our interest. Now our investments and properties are stuck up. We have been fighting against the promoter before RERA for three years but did not get any relief,” he said.
“The promoter company kept taking adjournments and changing lawyers before RERA, which has the power to take over the project and assign other promoters to complete the work,” Agrawal added. “We are very disappointed and concerned about our hard-earned money. Most of the investors are NRIs.”
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited (GIFTCL) granted development permission to the promoter in 2014. Despite numerous communications and meetings, the promoters failed to complete the project within agreed timeframes.
The unpaid Development Rights consideration amounts to Rs 27.64 crore according to the revised payment schedule in the Supplemental Agreement to ATL. After repeated communications since 2022, GIFT City authorities issued a termination notice on September 8, 2023.
Development rights were ultimately terminated on May 7. The authority’s letter highlighted multiple buyer complaints regarding possession delays and incomplete construction. Though RERA had extended the completion date for WTC Tower B and C, the promoter failed to comply. No further extension permission was sought by the promoter.
Legal troubles mount
The company’s legal representative told RERA that they had entered into a partnership with the Bhutani Group to complete the project and resume construction. However, the plan did not materialize, even after RERA directed the promoter to restart work.
To make matters worse, the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) cancelled the licence granted to WTC Noida Development due to multiple breaches of agreement. Additionally, promoter Ashish Bhalla was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 7 in connection with a major real estate fraud case.
The WTC GIFT City project includes four towers—three commercial buildings (Towers A, B, and D) meant for office spaces, and one mixed-use tower (Tower C), comprising over 1,300 units in total.