IFC has an active equity investment of $34.44 million with Shapoorji Pallonji Company Limited (SPCL) in Pune, India to fund the development of affordable housing units. The IFC investment was made in 2015 and it is part of a $200 million financial platform called Joyville that was established by SPCL.

In December 2020, CAO received a complaint from an individual raising concerns that his farmland was forcibly and illegally taken from him and sold to develop and sell affordable housing units. Pending legal disputes over ownership of the land were also cited.

The complaint was found eligible for assessment in December 2020, and the assessment was completed in October 2021. As the parties did not reach a consensus to participate in a dispute resolution process, the case was referred to CAO's Compliance function for appraisal.

On March 16, 2022, CAO completed its compliance appraisal of the complaint regarding IFC’s investment in Shapoorji Pallonji. The appraisal concluded that a compliance investigation is merited regarding the complainant’s allegations of project-related physical and economic displacement, which are related to IFC’s application of its Performance Standard 5 on land acquisition and resettlement. In response to a request from IFC, CAO has deferred the investigation of this issue after consulting with the complainant. The deferral will allow IFC and its client to implement a six-month action plan designed to respond to the complainant’s claim in line with IFC’s environmental and social performance standards and requirements. CAO determined a timeline and framework for monitoring during the deferral period and will release a public report on the outcomes of the deferral after the deferral period.