Pune: Fraud With MHADA Beneficiaries In Wagholi By Gera Builder? Change In Plan After Booking

Wagholi, 4th November 2022: The flat owners who got flats from Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) lottery have alleged that Gera Builder cheated them. The building plan was changed after the purchase. 

Due to insufficient space, fewer facilities like, no safety grill provided for the windows, and no partition in the hall kitchen, flat holders stated that there is a possibility of having to live like a slum in the flat as well.

MHADA has a project called Shrishti in Wagholi. The flat owners have alleged that 250 customers of the Srishti Building have been cheated by Gera Developments Pvt Ltd (GDPL). 

After the purchase, structural changes were made to the building by Gera Builder. Reportedly, these changes will reduce the facilities available to these flat holders. The builder has reduced side margins.

Ranveer Deshmukh, a flat owner in the building informed that before making structural changes in the building, the builder was required to take the prior written permission of the purchaser as per RERA rules. However, such permission was not taken. 

The plan of the society was mutually amended on June 27, 2022. The plan shown to Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), MHADA and flat owners before the purchase showed nine meters of free space on all three sides of the building. Now this space is kept at only 4.5 meters. Hence, the residents will get less space for community use. 

Therefore, the flat holders are demanding that the project should be put on hold until the east side of the newly approved plan is restored.

According to MHADA CEO Nitin Mane, the lottery procedure is completed. Now the dispute is between Gera Developments and their customers. Matters related to facilities provided by the builder or any changes to the building plan are handled by the PMRDA. MHADA has no jurisdiction over these aspects.

PMRDA commissioner Rahul Mahiwal said that chief engineer Vivek Kharwadkar has been assigned the responsibility of solving the dispute between the MHADA beneficiaries and Gera Developments. All legal aspects will be considered to find out a solution. 

Official Statement from Gera Developments Pvt. Ltd. – 

“The lottery was announced in September 2020, the plans then were already in-warded to the governing body for approval well before the lottery i.e. in June 2020. A revision in the plan was required to accommodate parking spaces for the residents and hence the open spaces were restructured suitably. The inclusive housing rules mandate that the recreation room should not be considered in the built-up area. Four additional units were added to comply with this directive. The revised plans provide for a recreation hall as well as are fully compliant with the development control rules.  

With regard to the issue pertaining to one internal wall not being provided, this is in fact true – most home buyers in smaller apartments prefer open plan kitchens as the floor space increases and the home feels larger. We did this keeping this trend in mind. The few customers who want the wall have already been promised that the same will be provided as per the sanctioned plan.  

Whatever changes are done are as per the DC rules and within the ambit of RERA. There is absolutely no wrongdoing on our part.  

The agreement with the Inclusive housing customers clearly states that the revised plan would be effected once approved by the PMRDA. Both PMRDA and MHADA have confirmed that we have acted in compliance with the law vide letters dated 12th October 2022 and 21st October 2022 respectively; and as directed by the statutory authorities. 

We go to great lengths to ensure customer satisfaction, and this is true even for our customers who are being allotted homes through the MHADA lottery system. We are therefore in touch with most of the unit purchasers. We are happy to resolve this through dialogue with our esteemed customers or through RERA if they wish to use the legal route available to them.”