Thane: Karrm buyers were lured by copter rides, lavish lunch

The developers of Karrm projects in Thane districtrsquos Shahapur lured workingclass clients through their offer of affordable homes andmdashfree helicopter rides and lavish breakfast and lunch before sealing the deal The marketing strategy helped them attract close to 11500 buyers Years later the promised dream home is nowhere to be seen but they are continuing to pay EMIs towards loansmidday reported about the alleged scam in the project sanctioned with forged papers on August 21 The whistleblower Prabhuram Giri 60 said the developer would also arrange a fourwheeler pickup and drop facility for prospective home buyers from Mumbai the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR and PuneThe free breakfast and lunch was arranged at the project site of Karrm Panchtatva at Kasgaon in Shahapur Thane district Except the plinth at one phase barren land can be seen in phase 2 and phase 3 sites here ldquoI am in the process of extracting information on how a helipad was allowed to be constructed here and how the authorities granted permission to fly a private helicopter which was nothing less than a safety risk to passengers There was no form of authorised security at the site barring some bouncersrdquo Giri saidlsquoA scary experiencersquoldquoWe a family of three received a phone call one day We were told that our names had been shortlisted for a helicopter ride at one of their project sites in Shahapur We booked a shop and a flat in the upcoming Karrm Panchtatva phases 2 and 3 in 2016rdquo said Ramashish Choupal who lives in a slum near Banganga Malabar HillAn undated photo of a helicopter used for rides by the developer PicsPrabhuram GiriRecalling the day of the helicopter ride ldquoAt the venue the bouncers took down our name age and weight We then boarded a 14seater helicopter with 810 other visitorsrdquo When asked about safety instructions he said ldquoWe were not given any safety tips or briefing The helicopter with pilots in command soon took off and we were frightened It was about a 510 minutes of ride and we hovered over Shahapur I could only see mountainsrdquoChoupal who works as a private driver and earns Rs 18000 a month said he never thought ldquothe developer would dupe useven educated people had invested their money in the project This was supposed to be our first investment after working for over three decades in Mumbairdquo Choupal said he has already paid Rs 415 lakh towards the shop and the flat and the remaining Rs 685 lakh approximately was to be paid after getting the possession which he has notPaying EMI but no homeVajahat Ali Sayyed 37 who lives in a rented house in Airoli Navi Mumbai had booked a 1RK at Karrm Panchtatva in 2015 after seeing an advertisement ldquoTwo years later on the day of registration of the house along with hundreds of other buyers we were taken to the helipad close to the project site for a helicopter ride of five minutes around Sahapurrdquo recalled Vajahat a collection agent He also denied receiving any safety instructions before the rideVajahat Ali SayyedVajahat the sole breadwinner said he still has to be EMIs for a house that is nowhere close to even construction Jignesh Doshi 51 a resident of Malad has also been paying a monthly EMI of Rs 7500 towards a loan of Rs 6 lakh for his flat in Pukar building at Karrm Residency project in Shahapur Doshi a freelance tour operator said ldquoWe borrowed money in my wifersquos name from a private financial institution which is charging us 13 per cent to 14 per cent towards interest They have threatened to take us to court if we stop paying the EMIsrdquoExpert SpeakSubhash Kamath former CEO BBH amp Publicis India and former Chairman Advertising Standards Council of India ASCI said the marketing strategy adopted by the developer in the form of free lunch and helicopter rides is not an issue ldquoIf the developer has failed to deliver his promises and has duped thousands of flat buyers it is needless to say that the regulatory authorities and legal process need to be put into motionrdquo he addedldquoIt will be very difficult to say if a particular advertisement is lsquomisleadingrsquo especially by a real estate developer giving freebies or making special arrangements to lure his prospective customers as part of their promotional campaignactivity as the actual construction and completion work of the project would take anywhere between three to four years from the date of advertisementrdquo said KamathKamath however has a word of caution for everyone investing their hardearned money in underconstruction projectsmdashget all your documents including regulatory permissions vetted by a lawyer Besides the government and the competent authorities need to be extra vigilant towards mass housing projects under the ambit of affordable homes he added