Awaiting home for over 10 years, buyers stage protest in Marol

The promoter of the project – Naqeeb Patel – did not respond to calls and messages to get his comment.

Mumbai: Pravin and Apoorva Shetty left their high-paying jobs in Indonesia and returned to support their ageing parents and to inculcate the rich heritage of India into their child. However, they have been running from pillar to post to get their new home.

Mumbai, India - Feb 25, 2023 : Proxima Residences People protest at Construction Site at Andheri, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, Feb 25, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

The couple booked a flat at the Proxima Residences in Marol, Andheri East, in 2014 and were promised that it will be delivered by March 2017.

“Instead of the life we dreamt, we have to now shift between rented apartments which are often unsettling for our child and run from pillar to post to get our home. We have invested our entire life savings in this and the builder does not even bother to turn up for meetings. We left the jobs abroad as we were hoping to get the possession,” said Apoorva to HT.

On Sunday, a group of people – who booked apartments in the Proxima Residences – staged a peaceful protest against the developer after waiting for more than 10 years to receive their flats. The developer, Aviation Hotels Private Ltd – a part of the NDW Group, who is also known as Doodhwala Builders – reportedly completed more than 90% of the project.

The promoter of the project – Naqeeb Patel – did not respond to calls and messages to get his comment.

Harsha Vardhan Desireddy, another buyer, said that he has been forced to stay on rent, even after paying almost 95% of the money years ago. “Some of us have been waiting for more than 10 years for our flats to be delivered. Paying our EMI and rent on top of that comes as a double whammy for us,” he added.

Proxima Residences has seven 13-storey towers and some home buyers who booked the flats in 2011-12 have been waiting for possession for 11 years. The project has 335 apartments, out of which 252 are booked.

“I have parents older than 75 years who are also facing harassment due to this situation. Due to poor financial conditions, I was forced to move them from a house in Bandra to Nalasopara in a rental house despite paying ₹two crore for this house,” said Mohamed Tallha Sonalkar, who booked his flat in December 2013 and paid 95% of the cost by 2017.

Meanwhile, at least 14 complaints are pending with MahaRERA since 2019, but the regulator’s hearing process has been slow. In two of the five cases which were adjudicated by MahaRERA member Vijay Satbir Singh, the Authority held the developer guilty of failing to deliver possession by the agreed date and granted interest on delayed possession to home buyers but did not direct the developer to give a binding possession date.

“The MahaRERA further directs that since the project is nearing completion, the payment of interest at this stage may jeopardise the completion of the project. Hence, the MahaRERA is of the view that the respondent is at liberty to adjust the interest amount along with the outstanding dues payable by the complainants, and the balance amount of interest, if any, can be paid at the time of possession,” Singh said in his May 2021 order.

But two years later, possession still eludes people like Suraj Kanjarankandy, who booked a flat in January 2018 as the developer promised possession by 2018 Diwali, “I took a huge loan and paid 90% of the flat cost. After that, we have been just chasing the builder, and the builder has been promising possession since 2019.”