Ajay Harinath Singh, who owns Darwin Platform Infrastructure Ltd (DPIL), recently won the bid to acquire and revive India’s first private hill station. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the sale of Lavasa, India’s first private hill station, to Darwin Platform Infrastructure, resolving the concerns of hundreds of purchasers and lenders.
Ajay Harinath Singh, who is located in Mumbai, is the chairman and managing director of the Darwin Platform Group of enterprises. According to Business Today, the company group, which operates in a number of industries including real estate, automobiles, retail, infrastructure, shipping, mining, refineries, and finance, has a net value of $8.4 billion (more than Rs 68,000 crore).
After the lenders voted in favour of the resolution plan, the NCLT issued an order approving Darwin’s resolution plan. It called for a distribution of Rs 1,814 crore over eight years, of which Rs 929 crore will go to lenders and Rs 438 crore will go towards giving homebuyers completely built homes as per Times of India reports.
“The NCLT has entrusted us with a challenging task to develop an ambitious world-class smart city in the country. The verdict would reinforce our commitment to nation-building. Lavasa is now on the cusp of a remarkable resurgence. DPIL is committed to executing the plan as per the schedule proposed to the CoC. We are very eager to revitalise this ambitious project,” Singh asserted in his statement.
As per TOI reports, there are 837 homebuyers and they claimed Rs 409 crores making the cumulative amount go up to Rs 6,642 crores including from lenders and operational creditors. “The plight of homebuyers, along with the concerns of secured financial creditors, would not go unnoticed by DPIL. The company promises to include the stakeholders in the revival process and prioritise their needs,” he said in his statement assuring homebuyers.
In addition to Lavasa, Singh’s Darwin Platform Group took part in high-profile bids to buy Jet Airways, Air India, and Shipping Corporation of India. In 2022, he joined the competition to buy the indebted Anil Ambani company Reliance Capital.