GBP row: We are abroad to seek investments, say promoters

Promoters of GBP Group, which is in the thick of controversy for not giving possession to 2,500 investors, said in an open letter that they are presently abroad to seek investments to revive projects

Two days after a fresh FIR was registered against Gupta Builders and Promoters (GBP) Group, which is in the thick of controversy for the past one week for not giving possession to 2,500 investors, its promoters have confirmed that they are presently abroad to seek investments and attributed the delay in completing projects to the pandemic.

GBP office was ransacked at its Athens project on Airport Road in Mohali. The promoters are accused of running abroad, leaving the investors in the lurch.

Meanwhile, the firm’s office at Athens, one of its projects on Airport Road in Mohali, was ransacked on Saturday evening. According to police, some people broke into the office and took away air conditioners, almirahs and other material. A few suspects have been rounded up for questioning.

In an open letter to the investors, the GBP management stated that due to the pandemic outbreak and countrywide lockdown, they were forced to abandon the projects. “There is a temporary liquidity crunch in the company, mostly due to the onslaught of Covid,” the letter reads.

Admitting that they are out of the country to meet probable investors and seek investments, the management stated that the operations will be back on track soon and they are fully committed to fulfil promises made to the investors.

The realty firm has several ongoing projects in Mohali. Among them, Camelia, offering both residential and commercial units, in Kharar, and GBP Centrum (commercial) in Zirakpur have been under construction since 2016.

At two other projects – Athens (residential and commercial) and Aeroze (residential) – both on the Airport Road, construction has not progressed for years, and at a residential colony in New Chandigarh, where plots have been sold, construction has not even begun.

Last week, Global conglomerate SRAM & MRAM Group pulled out its ₹700-crore investment committed to the GBP Group. As a result, nearly ₹1,500 crore, invested by over 2,500 people from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pardesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and several NRIs, are hanging in balance.

On September 24, a cheating case was registered against the GBP management at the Zirkapur police station for not giving possession to allottees. Raj Sharma, a former GBP staffer, said even the employees have not paid their salaries for the past eight months.