Win for homebuyers in Bhiwandi as state raps scamster builder

Over 1,800 home buyers in Bhiwandi, Mumbai, who have been waiting for their properties for 11 years, may finally see progress as the state home department has directed the attachment of the assets of developer Rajesh Patwa, including land parcels, bank accounts, and a car, under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act. The developer had preyed on buyers by marketing a proposed township without necessary clearances, leading to criminal charges in 2017. Activists are pushing for amendments to ensure swift action against such developers.

MUMBAI: Over 1,800 home buyers waiting for their properties in a township in Bhiwandi which was stalled for 11 years, can heave a sigh of relief. The state home department has directed the Bhiwandi sub divisional officer to attach the assets of developer Rajesh Patwa, which includes his 20 land parcels, 30 bank accounts and a Fortuner car, under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act provisions.

HT Image

The story of the developer preying on gullible buyers dates back to 2010-11. At the time Patwa’s company -- Shree Mahavir Patwa Developers and Construction – had proposed a three-phased township on nearly 60 acres of land near Kharbao station, in Bhiwandi, which attracted middle class home buyers keen to invest in flats the size of 1BHK to 3BHK. The company made the project more lucrative to the buyers marketing it as a future city close to the Virar Alibaug Multimodal Corridor, and the Bhiwandi Metro.

However, there was a hitch -- the project had no clearances from the planning authority, the Thane collector.

As the project failed to take off, two criminal offences were lodged against Patwa and seven directors including his brother Vinod Patwa in 2017, by an investor, following which they were arrested. Rajesh Patwa got bail in August 2022. At the time, the land assets were valued at ₹250 crore, the bail order mentioned.

The order dated November 9 by Anup Kumar Singh, principal secretary (special), of the home department, said the government had realised that the company and its promoters had failed to repay the deposits of investors and are not likely to give possession of flat or return the deposits in future. Therefore, using Section 4 and 5 of MPID, the order asked Bhiwandi SDO to attach the assets and recover the money.

“It has taken six years for the state government to attach the developers’ assets in this case after the FIR was filed against the developer in 2017. We need amendments in MPID and RERA to ensure quick action against the assets of such developers who have cheated a large number of home buyers, especially from the lower income groups,” said Melwyn Fernandes, a Thane-based social activist.

Activist Nitin Mohite, who has brought together a group of over 200 home buyers to fight for their rights, told HT, “We knocked at the doors of MahaRERA but the project had no requisite permissions. So we got no help. We now hope that the developers’ assets are swiftly attached and auctioned and the home buyers get their money back within the next few months. We have learnt that over 4,000 investors have been cheated, but EOW has documented only 1,800 cases. So there could be more victims of this cheating.”

Rajesh Patwa, who is out on bail, did not respond to HT’s calls.