Govt will seize Ansal API assets if investors don’t get back their money: Yogi Adityanath

He had already issued directives to lodge FIRs against the developer in all districts of the state where investors were duped by the developer

A day after the state government ordered FIRs against Ansal API, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday announced that properties of the real estate group would be confiscated if it did not return its investors’ money.

Govt will seize Ansal API assets if investors don’t get back their money: Yogi Adityanath

Speaking during the budget session of the state assembly on Tuesday, Adityanath assured investors who have been duped by Ansal API of all help.

Adityanath had already issued directives to lodge FIRs against the developer in all districts across the state where cases like Lucknow’s were coming up.

“The government will confiscate the properties of Ansal (Ansal API) if it does not return the homebuyers’ money,” the chief minister said on the floor of the House. “We will bring them (Ansal API) to justice.”

A day after the CM’s directives against the Ansal group on Monday, senior officials of the state government were huddled in a closed-door meeting gathering details to make a fool-proof case against the developer in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

“LDA will challenge Ansal API in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal,” said Prathamesh Kumar, the vice chairman of Lucknow Development Authority (LDA).

“All aggrieved persons will also be able to file separate FIRs against the developer. The state government has issued necessary instructions to the police in this regard,” Kumar said.

The company has also informed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), where the company is listed, about the issue. The company’s scrip code in NSE is ANSALAPI.

Ansal API’s footprints are not confined to only Lucknow, where its township is spread over 4,500 acres. Sushil Ansal, the group chairman, is one of the owners of the infamous Uphaar Cinema in New Delhi and owns several properties in the national capital.

Apart from Uttar Pradesh, the group has presence in NCR, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in North India. In Uttar Pradesh, the group has presence in Lucknow, Agra, Meerut, Jhansi and several other districts.

The Ansal API township in the state capital was launched in 2005 on 6,465 acres. In 2021, the township’s size was reduced from 6,465 acres to 4,690 acres. A large number of homebuyers are yet to get the possession of their promised flats and plots.

“Multiple FIRs have been lodged against the Ansal API group in the state capital since 2015. Around 6,500 investors are affected,” said advocate Adarsh Mishra, who was the legal advisor of Ansal API from 2007 to 2013.

According to senior officials of the state government, a committee of homebuyers and the LDA will also be constituted to address the issues of investors.