Gurugram: Sec 37D locals protest maintenance fees hike, seek handover to RWAs

Residents of three Sector 37D condominiums protested against high maintenance fees and delays in transferring management to RWAs, alleging financial burdens and transparency issues.

Residents of three condominiums in Sector 37D staged a protest on Sunday against the builder, alleging high maintenance charges, lack of transparency in the collection of fees and delays in handing over maintenance responsibilities to elected residents’ welfare associations (RWAs).

Gurugram: Sec 37D locals protest maintenance fees hike, seek handover to RWAs

Residents of BPTP Park Serene, BPTP Park Generation and BPTP Spacio alleged that the builder charges “an additional 20% management fee”, while the private maintenance agency engaged at the condominiums levies “a separate 5% management fee”. They questioned why two agencies are involved in condominium maintenance and why residents are being charged separately by both.

Residents alleged that the arrangement has increased their financial burden and lacks transparency. They also alleged that the builder has delayed the formal handover of maintenance responsibilities to the elected RWAs, allowing it to continue levying maintenance charges.

Residents showed HT an email thread in which the builder responded to their concerns over the increase in maintenance charges. In the response, the builder said the management fee represents the cost of overall service management and administration.

Sandeep Sharma, RWA president of BPTP Park Serene, said a resident owning an 1,800-square-foot house would ideally be paying around ₹8,000 in CAM charges, excluding GST, club and water charges.

“The builder is employing deliberate delay tactics by constantly modifying Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) drafts and introducing conflicting clauses at different times to stall the handover process,” Sharma said.

Sharma told HT that residents and RWAs of all three condominiums have decided to withhold payments towards CAM charges, club, water and other maintenance charges until their concerns are addressed.

Parmanand, a resident of BPTP Spacio, said the builder had engaged another private maintenance agency to provide services at the condominium around a year ago.

“If the private agency is responsible for providing the maintenance services, why should residents also pay the builder? Either the builder or the agency should be collecting the charges. Together, they are charging residents nearly ₹20 lakh every month,” he said.

Addressing the protest, Shyam Sunder, managing director of Business Park Maintenance Service (BPMS), BPTP Realty’s maintenance arm, rejected the allegations.

“The allegations being made by the residents are entirely false and baseless. The company who are managing the condominiums have already shared supporting documentation and details of the actual incurred expenses,” he said.

“We have been actively engaged with the RWA on handover for over four years; however, the requirements have repeatedly changed, preventing closure. We are in contact with them regarding the handover,” Sunder added.