Mumbai: Five years on, Clan City buyers seek relief

Over 1700 homebuyers have been left in the lurch with a Chemburbased builder abandoning an affordable housing project in Taloja In March yet another promise to give possession by the developer Ms Supreme Construction and Developer Pvt Ltd will fall flat The tall buildings in Clan City have been lying desolate since 2017Most of the flat buyers have paid 90 to 100 per cent of the cost before 2017 Some availed bank loans a few mortgaged their jewellery while some used their retirement funds and savings The project was earlier called lsquoHexcityrsquo affordable housing projectAmong the homebuyers is Jiwat Manglani 60 a Chembur resident who used his savings to pay a consideration of Rs 2675 lakh for a 2BHK flat of 580 sqft He had booked the place in 2010 The developer also charged Rs 5 lakh as development and was demanding additional parking charges of Rs 5 lakh and escalation cost of Rs 7 lakh which he did not payThrough the flat Manglani wanted to ensure the financial security of his differently abled 32yearold daughter and wife in case of his demise ldquoMy daughter is differently abled My wife and I have taken care of her all our life The flat in Clan City would have brought some financial security through rent Instead I lost my savings The developer duped merdquo said Manglani a retired cab driver His two other children are settled abroadAlso Read Mumbai New housing society rules to come into effect soonAccording to Manglani the project was to be completed in 2014 ldquoThe developer began the work only in 2013 He also prepared an agreement completely in his favour and levied other charges costing Rs 165 lakh Some of the other buyers had no option but to sign it and register their flats Flats that were supposed to cost Rs 265 lakh finally cost Rs 48 lakh after including other costs stamp duty registration and two yearsrsquo advance maintenance chargesrdquoForced to stay on rentMofazzal Azam died of a massive heart attack aged 69 years on January 5 He was a retired BARC scientist and resided with his family on rent in Kharghar ldquoMy husband was under tremendous stress as the project was stuck and he was disturbed He was spending a large chunk of money on rent We pay Rs 23500 per month for a 2BHK Post his retirement he routinely visited the site and developerrsquos office only to return dejected and worriedrdquo said Rahat Azam Mofazzalrsquos wifeldquoWe had booked a 2BHK flat measuring 652 sqft carpet area for a consideration of Rs 31 lakh The developer demanded another Rs 8 lakh towards escalation cost and Rs 5 lakh for parking which was not agreeable and my husband wrote a letter to them in 2017 raising his concern I do not want to continue with the project and already a case has been filed against the developer before the MahaRERArdquo said Rahat who takes home tuitions to support her daughterrsquos educationCases against builderAccording to Manglani over 112 complaints by flat buyers against the builder are pending since 2018 in consumer court An equal number of cases is pending before the MahaRERAThe flat buyers recently tried to register a police complaint at Chembur police station ldquoBut the police refused to entertain our complaintrdquo Manglani said ldquoOne flat buyer got his refund through MahaRERA He is now fighting for his interest component We are hopeful that MahaRERA will give us justicerdquo Manglani addedManglani claimed that the developer sold the project at a rate of Rs 2500 Rs 3000 per sqft in 2010 but by 2017 some wellknown developers were quoting higher prices for their upcoming projects in the vicinity of Clan City Today the property rate is over R7500R8000 per sqft ldquoIt seems the developer might have stalled the project to make extra money but failed in the processrdquo Manglani said Clan City was conceived around 2010 and possession was promised in December 2017lsquoGovt must step uprsquoAdvocate Godfrey Pimenta who is representing some of the buyers in MahaRERA demanded a forensic investigation of the developerrsquos finances ldquoIt is sad that even though nine towers have been built flat buyers are yet to see a ray of hope Since this is an affordable housing project the state government should intervene The government cannot be a mute spectatorrdquo said PimentaHe added ldquoThe government of India has introduced several schemes such as SWAMIH Fund for stalled projects Even the state government has issued a Gazette Notification for a stalled project at Vikhroli for completion of the rehab component of the project However in the present case if the state government and authorities donrsquot come to buyersrsquo rescue it will be disastrous for themrdquo112No of buyers who have approached MahaRERA