P K Jain, Adviser, Parsvnath, vented his anger saying: “What do you want to know now, when everything is ruined? Why are you asking me who is responsible for this mess? We had sent a letter to Chandigarh Administration asking it to clear its stand on the issue and are awaiting a response till date.” In December 2008, the developer had shot off a letter to the Chandigarh Administration giving the latter three options — either to terminate ties; revise the contract’s terms and conditions or change the contract on a pro-rata basis.

Jain added: “The Administration has not even sanctioned our plans yet while we have blocked such a heavy investment here. No investor will ever come to Chandigarh, if this remains the attitude of the Chandigarh Administration.”

Refusing to reply to dozens of queries posted repeatedly to the Parsvnath group, he said: “Why should I reply to your queries? Would it serve any purpose?” Asked whether Parsvnath had plans to move court against the Chandigarh Administration, Jain replied: “What would the court do in this? We are stuck in Chandigarh and the criticism, which the company has endured in the city, has perturbed investors who are lining up for a refund.”

Spread over 123 acres, the Prideasia project is an integral part of the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park. A joint venture between Parsvnath and the Chandigarh Housing Board, it ran into rough weather last year when the Chandigarh Administration failed to clear a few of the building plans of the site. Parsvnath had bagged the project by quoting the highest bid of Rs 821 crore. While Parsvnath had already deposited Rs 517 crore in an Escrow account, jointly operated by CHB and Parsvnath, the pending Rs 321 crore was yet to be deposited when CHB freezed the account asking the developer to clear payments.

Meanwhile, the Central Vigilance Commission has announced a probe in the project and summoned the records pertaining to its allotment and conceptualisation.

Tailpiece: a senior UT Administration official confirmed that work on the site is stalled on the CVC’s directive but Jain contended that the work is still on but at a “very slow pace — all thanks to the Chandigarh Administration”.

The agreement

The Prideasia project has a saleable residential area of 38.5 lakh square feet, a commercial area of 2.7 lakh square feet, a club, sports centre and a water sports complex of 2 lakh square feet. Various banks and the company’s marketing wing were jointly selling the dwelling units and the amount was being collected in an Escrow account. While 30 per cent of the gross receipts from the residential segment were to go to the Chandigarh Housing Board, the rest (70 per cent) was to go to Parsvnath. The sale-proceeds and realisations from segments other than the residential area were to go entirely to the developer. The global meltdown, the CVC probe and the rift between the Chandigarh Administration and the developer played an important role in discouraging investors, who opted for withdrawal of their deposits. Around 60 per cent of the investors, who had booked units at the Prideasia project, have already come forward looking for a refund of their booking amounts.