Investors allege embezzlement in WTC project

The president of the WTC (Noida) Chandigarh Allottees Association, formed by investors, Air Marshall (Retd) P S Gill, said that the company bought eight acres of land in an auction organised by GAMADA in Mohali in 2015. After paying 22 per cent of the auction price, WTC took possession of the land. The allotment letter issued by GAMADA allowed WTC to develop and sell any part of the allocated site, based on which WTC started a commercial project offering office spaces and commercial areas of various sizes, ensuring a 10% return on investment. It was also ensured that the commercial project would be completed by March 2021, and the physical possession of the respective units would be handed over to allottees.

Considering this representation to be accurate, around 1,200 investors booked units of various sizes for office space or commercial areas. Most investors paid 70-90 per cent of the sale consideration. However, WTC did not carry out construction work proportional to the collected amount and ultimately halted construction work and payment of assured returns by March 2022.

It is alleged that WTC collected approximately Rs 432 crore from various investors and also took loans amounting to Rs 176 crore from various financial institutions and non-banking finance companies. Given the available amount, the project could have been fully completed, but the company neither paid the remaining land cost to GAMADA nor completed the construction.

Air Marshal (Retd) P S Gill highlighted the mistakes of GAMADA and PB RERA, stating that GAMADA allocated eight acres of land to WTC for Rs 131.33 crore at the 2015 auction and gave possession upon receiving 25 per cent payment. The allotment letter allowed WTC to sell the project.

Later, GAMADA neither monitored the project nor imposed any conditions for public interest protection. Eight years
later, when WTC did not pay the EMI, GAMADA suddenly seized the plot.

He mentioned that the project is registered with PB RERA. By March 2022, WTC had made an additional withdrawal of Rs 77.02 crore, but RERA neither forced WTC to comply with guidelines nor monitored the progress of the project. WTC periodically submitted reports on project progress to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Punjab. Even in the report in April last year, it was confirmed that an additional withdrawal of Rs 77.04 crore had been made by March 31, 2022.