Mumbai: Home buyers protest against Mehul Choksi for failure to hand over flats

Home buyers protest in Mumbai on Saturday. (Express photo by Kevin DSouza)

NEARLY 200 people, who had bought flats in the under-construction Tatva towers in Borivali East, staged a protest at the project site on Saturday. Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali Infratech Limited was expected to deliver the flats in 2013.

The protesters, among whom 75 are still awaiting the possession of their flats, said they have approached the state Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) seeking action against Choksi, who along with his nephew and diamantaire Nirav Modi, is wanted in the Rs 11,400-crore PNB fraud case.

Choksi had started building luxury residential project, Tatva, in 2010. The project comprises two towers of 20 and 21 storeys, with 155 flats in all. Around 100 of these have been sold.

The protesters alleged that Gitanjali Infratech Limited had first promised possession in December 2013, which got pushed to 2015, and then to December 2017. Following this, around 75 home buyers formed an association to voice their grievances. Among them, while 23 approached the RERA, 26 moved the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC).

The home buyers claimed they were later informed that their flats would be ready in December 2017. However, the next month, Choksi fled the country to evade arrest in the PNB scam. On March 8, a buyer noticed a signboard outside Tatva towers, declaring that Laxmi Infra Developers was the new developer of the project. This was confirmed during an NCDRC hearing on April 4.

A home buyer, Sumit Sarkar, said: “This is against norms. A change like this should have been communicated to us. Our consent is required for this… There is no one to complete the project as Choksi has fled the country. Meanwhile, the Laxmi Infra Developers has sought to meet us.”

Another buyer, Swapnil Chhaparwal, said, “I had booked two flats on the 17th and 18th floors in 2011. However, after procuring money, when it was time to register the property, we were told that the developer has not received permission to construct the 17th and 18th floors.” The residents alleged that despite being duped by a wanted “fraud”, no government agency had come forward to help them. “Despite so many setbacks, we do not want to give up. I appeal to the government to intervene and help us,” said Alok Gupta, another victim.