September 9, 2026 — 5:00amThe family behind collapsed Sydney developer Bathla Group had grandiose plans for their palatial $5.5 million Dural mansion: a basketball court, multiple swimming pools and a four-car detached garage at the 14,500-square-metre property.The company, run by director Bhart Bhushan until it was placed into voluntary administration a fortnight ago with debts of $3.4 billion, had not paid its workers for eight weeks. On Monday, administrators Teneo stood down 213 employees and suspended work on many Bathla development sites.While construction comes to a halt on majority of collapsed developer
Bathla Group’s projects and 213 staff have been stood down, work continues on the mansion being built for the company’s owners. Wolter PeetersBut construction work on the family’s property known as Sierra Morena, named after a mountain range in Spain, appears to be powering on.When this masthead visited on Tuesday, two tradesmen were spotted on site, with one confirming they had been paid and were hired to complete gardening work. They said the family was not home.When contacted, Bhushan’s son Raj Mohan denied there had been any recent work on the site. “This is my personal home. Works are funded from my own pocket. There has been no work on site for at least the past six months.”Mohan, who is listed as a project manager at Bathla on LinkedIn, and Jai Mohan purchased the seven-bedroom estate in 2020. Raj & Jai Construction – one of Bathla’s 542 individual entities – reportedly gets its name from the owners of Sierra Morena.The gate to Sierra Morena has a small yellow sign saying “Beware of the dog”.Wolter PeetersWork at the Dural property, which features a six-car garage.Wolter PeetersThe gate sporting the property’s name was chained up and displayed a sign that warned “beware of the dog”. Through it, tree branches could be seen collected in a pile, and a red excavator was sitting dormant in front of one of the doors to the home’s six-car garage. Wiring was hanging out of the white wall surrounding the property and the matching letterbox.The home was already luxurious, featuring a grand ballroom, billiard room, caterer’s kitchen, tennis court, a six-car garage and nine bathrooms, but the family had plans to take it to another level. In 2021, The Hills Shire Council approved $1.5 million worth of additions to the home, which along with the basketball court, pools and additional garage included a series of ponds and a “French fan cobblestone” driveway.One neighbour said the family had never moved in and that the home had for years remained empty. Another Dural resident said construction on the additions had been underway for years.One of two tradesmen seen at the property on Tuesday said they had been paid to work on the garden.Wolter PeetersThe fact that work is continuing despite the company’s financial problems raises questions about the source of funding for the project. The Australian reported in July that Bhushan only had $390,000 to his name.On Monday, administrators Teneo announced it had reached a short-term funding agreement with five lenders to enable limited operations to continue for a further two weeks, but said “significant work remains” to secure the funding required to complete all Bathla projects under construction.The NSW government has maintained its stance on declining to bail out Bathla. Speaking on Nine’s Today program on Tuesday morning, NSW Premier Chris Minns said the state government was asked by the group’s administrator to tip in between $20 million to $100 million to help save the company but said he couldn’t do so.“I can’t give money straight to a company that’s in administration, we may not get the money back, and that would be devastating for taxpayers in our state,” he said.The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.From our partners
