Pune’s DS Kulkarni to submit repayment plan in High Court today

Pune based real-estate developer D S Kulkarni (DSK), battling allegations of financial irregularities, on Monday said the firm is "confident" of paying the returns to fixed-deposit holders who have accused it of default. Kulkarni, the founder chairman of the DSK group, told reporters that a "detailed" plan of repayment will be submitted before the Bombay High Court on November 23. Kulkarni and his wife Hemanti, one of the directors of the privately held company, were given interim anticipatory bail by the High Court earlier this month. Addressing a press conference, Kulkarni said the total assets of the firm stood at Rs 9,000 crore whereas the dues including the fixed-deposit (FD) returns are "merely" Rs 1500 crore."The firm is in the business for at least 50 years. We are running the FD schemes for the last 36 years and are paying returns to our investors on time. "We are confident of paying the returns. We will submit a detailed report of repayment in the court on Thursday," he said, adding that the firm has already started repaying the FD holders. He revealed that a foreign investor has shown willingness to form a joint venture with the firm in the ambitious DSK Dream City Project, worth Rs 13,000 crore. On the financial crisis that has afflicted his firm, Kulkarni said a multitude of factors is responsible for this. "I met with an accident last year. Besides, the entire real estate sector was in trouble and in between demonetisation was announced — all these factors impacted the business," he said. He said demonetisation was a good decision and its positive impact on the market and the economy will be seen in the next two years. Kulkarni clarified there is no direct link between demonetisation and the financial crisis his company is undergoing at present. He said the firm is hopeful of restarting their Toyota dealership outlets soon.