Chandigarh Administration Scraps Rs 191 cr Film City Project

The Chandigarh Administration has scrapped the much-publicised Rs 191-crore Multimedia-cum-Film city project in the city, citing non-payment of earnest money and delayed construction by the realty firm, Parsvnath Developers. After sealing the escrow account of Parsvnath Developers in which the developers had deposited Rs 521 crore for “PrideAsia” real estate, the Chandigarh Administration has ordered forfeiture of Rs 47 crore deposited by Parsvnath Developers in the Filmcity project.

Parsvnath, in response, has accused the Chandigarh Administration of not handing over the land and said this has delayed commissioning of the project. It denied knowledge about the scrapping of project. P K Jain adviser, Parsvnath Developers Ltd said , “We shall be forced to adopt legal recourse. We will discuss it with our legal cell and proceed accordingly.” The developers meanwhile claimed that the administration had failed to perform certain obligatory functions in terms of providing free land and its possession.

“We have already written to UT administration for allotting the land to us..but they have not done it which caused the delay of almost two years in developing the project,” Jain said. “We will react to it (scrapping of project) when they come to us,” Jain said, adding that the company would not let the money paid by it be forfeited. While, the PrideAsia project was to come up at the plush Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park in collaboration with Chandigarh Housing Board, for the Filmcity project, Parsvnath had tied up with noted filmmaker Satish Kaushik.

Parsvnath Developers Ltd had been awarded the Chandigarh Filmcity project in 2006 after bidding the highest amount of Rs 191 crore for a 99-year lease on a 30-acre site in Sarangpur. To be completed in three years, the project was intended to provide one-stop destination to film-makers for the film production and post-production activities. The Central Vigilance Commission had recently recommended a CBI inquiry into the Film city project which has reported that “land for the project had been given away at an abysmally low price”. The Film City project is already under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The allegations are that in the controversial land deal, 30 acre worth Rs 1,200 crore was given away to Parasvnath Developers at for just Rs 191 crore. Last year, Parsvnath had demanded termination of ties on the project and sought refund of the deposit. The developer had accused Administration of ‘lax attitude’ and not providing them an ‘encumbrance free’ possession of the land in Sarangpur, where the project was to come up. The first phase of the project was to start by the end of 2007, but even after two years, the project had not taken off.

News Published Under:   Chandigarh |

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