24 years & counting: Mumbai homebuyers wait for their dream home

The recent Campa Cola compound case and all the hoopla around it has made present homebuyers cautious; they now prefer scrutinising building plans before investing in any property. However, 24 years ago, homebuyers had limited sources of information to find the details or background of their invested property.

The plot in Dahisar (East) currently is under construction by the new builder. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Take the case of 160 investors, who in 1990, chipped in their hard-earned Rs 15,000 each for a property in Dahisar (East), to be developed by one Rajesh Builders and Associates. Twenty-four years later, the people are still waiting to live in their dream house.

While some members say that they shouldn't have believed in the word-of-mouth publicity of the project, others regret not taking up ready-possession flats elsewhere when they had a chance. The group had come together and proposed the name ‘Bhavishya Yog' for the development project. However, by 1992, even after pressure from the members, the builders were still dragging their feet about starting the construction.

It was at that time that they found out that the invested land was reserved for industrial development. It took the builders another seven years to convert the industrial area into residential land. In 1999, when they were still hopeful about the commencement of construction work, the builders went bankrupt. According to the investors, during bankruptcy, the builders sold half of the plot to another developer.

By 2008, the new developer started work and claimed the older investors had no claim in any flats in his project. The members approached the sessions court, but lost the case. Hoping to get their land back and the dream of their home, they have now taken the case to the Thane High Court, where it is underway.