Greater Noida: Homebuyers in Shahberi — an area deemed unfit for people to live in — are a helpless lot. With no aid visible from any quarters, they have finally decided to knock on the judiciary's doors.
Last week, a group of buyers forwarded a representation to the chief justices of Supreme Court and Allahabad high court over an email and via post.
Over the years, nearly 500 buildings with G+3 floors have been constructed illegally in Shahberi. The fate of 7,000 buyers who purchased properties in them remains uncertain. They have requested the authorities and the judiciary to provide alternative accommodations for them.
The homebuyers claim to have already written dozens of times to the chief executive officer of Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) and the commissioner and district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, but the petitions have fallen on deaf ears.
“We have been paying EMIs to banks and housing finance companies after taking loans. We have also been forced to stay on rent. It is a double whammy. For the past two years, I have been pursuing legal remedies. I have written to the authorities to take action against the erring developers. I do not have much savings left now,” said Sachin Raghav, a buyer who has been at the forefront of the fight and have been threatened by the developers. A private firm employee, Raghav had bought a flat for Rs 22.15 lakh in October 2016 after getting a home loan from Indian Overseas Bank.
The total amount at stake in the Shahberi property market is estimated to be around Rs 1,400 crore. The buyers have pleaded before judicial officials to give directions to GNIDA or the district administration to provide new accommodation within 8km from Shahberi.