After nearly 14 years of uncertainty, thousands of homebuyers who invested in stalled projects of Earth Infrastructures Limited have finally found a reason for hope.

A recent Supreme Court verdict restoring Alpha Corp Development’s resolution plan has revived the possibility of completing long-delayed housing projects in Gurgaon and Greater Noida, offering emotional and financial relief to buyers who spent years battling court cases, mounting EMIs, and fears of losing their life savings, according to a report by The Indian Express.

On May 5, a WhatsApp group notification popped up on the phones of around 3,000 people. They were not family, friends, or office colleagues, but were bound by a single thread — they were all homebuyers.

Back in 2011, many of them had booked flats in projects by Earth Infrastructures Limited in Greater Noida and Gurgaon. However, the projects stalled around 2014-15; the company then entered insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

After decades of uncertainty, the Supreme Court on May 5 restored builder Alpha Corp Development’s resolution plan to acquire the stalled projects, setting aside a 2023 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

For Col. Bhavishya Kashyap (Retd.), the message about the judgment brought major relief.

Speaking from Bengaluru, the 44-year-old said, “It’s been decades. When I invested in the project in 2011, I didn’t even have children. A lot changes in life over such a long period. We have lost about eight to 10 people to cancer, Covid-19, and accidents.”

Kashyap had bought a 3BHK in Earth Copia, along the Dwarka Expressway in Gurgaon’s Sector 112, at Rs 3,350 per square feet. “I had invested about Rs 68 lakh between 2011 and 2013, of which around Rs 30 lakh was a loan. Imagine being told that after liquidation, you may get only Rs 5 lakh back. This was my life savings. I opted to retire since my property investments failed, creating financial pressure about my child’s future expenses,” he said.

He is now working in the private sector.

Kashyap added that he had also persuaded his sister to invest: “I can’t describe the guilt I felt because that money should have been there for her children’s education. When investments don’t work out the way they should, it places an enormous financial burden on your mind.”

When the case first reached the SC, Kashyap, who was stationed in Bareilly at the time, used to take the morning Shatabdi at 5 am, reach Delhi by 10 am, attend proceedings at 11 am and return the same day.

“It was a painful process. I personally attended Supreme Court proceedings two or three times… But at the end of it, we feel at least we got justice and our hopes are restored,” he said.

Alpha Corp Development is expected to invest approximately Rs 750 crore towards completion, redevelopment, infrastructure upgrades, and delivery of the projects, with a projected revenue potential of around Rs 1,200 crore.

Another homebuyer, Alka Danwani, who had also booked a flat in the Gurgaon project, said the prolonged delay brought years of emotional and financial strain.

“As soon as construction started, everyone took loans. Many people were living on rent, and during Covid, some lost their jobs while continuing to pay EMIs. It was an extremely difficult period,” she said.

“My father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 while I was still paying installments. Managing Rs 10 lakh for his treatment was very difficult,” added Danwani, whose apartment cost around Rs 1 crore.

She said one of the biggest challenges was navigating the legal process. “We later found out that there was a newly established NCLT court where all these matters were being heard. We didn’t even know about it,” she said, adding that it may still take another three years for construction to be completed.

There are around 400 buyers in the Earth Copia residential project, said Dr Gurinder Gill, a government doctor practicing in Gurgaon. He is also a homebuyer and currently lives on rent in Dwarka.

“Most homebuyers had already paid nearly 90% of their installments. In 2015, around 15-20 buyers met at the construction site after hearing negative news about the builder. We held meetings, but no promoter came forward,” he said.

He said they submitted multiple complaints to authorities, eventually approaching the Real Estate Regulatory Authority and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).