Indiabulls rejects Bharat Mill ‘stop-sale’ request

INDIABULLS Real Estate has declined to give any commitment to the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR) that it will not promote or sell apartments at the proposed residential project on the Bharat Mill property. Indiabulls’ purchase of the mill has been contested by its rival, Lodha Group, two people familiar with the matter said.  The attorneys representing Indiabulls turned down a “request” from the authority to refrain from selling till it disposes of the case, the two people said. Both the companies declined to comment for the story. Lodha Group is contesting that rules for the bid for the mill property which was owned by National Textiles Corporation were not completely disclosed because of which it had lost the bid. The bidders were not told that they could sell proposed buildings even before paying up for the property.  NTC sold the eight-acre Bharat Mill property at Worli, Mumbai, to Indiabulls in August for 1,505 crore since it was the highest bidder. Lodha was the second highest with a bid that was 2 crore less than Indiabulls’. Lodha is seeking a re-bid for the project with a level-playing field and has offered to pay 1,602 crore for the property. Indiabulls, which had last week paid the first installment of 989.5 crore for the purchase of both the Poddar and Bharat Mill properties, had received bookings for over 40 apartments at the proposed residential tower on the Bharat Mill property. The apartments were offered for 18,000 to 23,000 per sq ft, a company official had said earlier.