Mumbai: Builder issues refund cheques, stops payment

The struggle to receive their refunds from builders doesnt seem to end for some homebuyers in Malad Sainath Sarode who had bought a house in Ms Vidhi developers upcoming project Gaurav discovery located in Malad West received his part payment cheque R20 lakh from the developer but the builder gave a stop payment instruction to the bank on Monday It has been a year since we are fighting to get back our money Sarode saidAlso Read Thane society residents Builder sent men to chop our gardenWhile Sarodes dream of owning a house in Mumbai faded when the builder defaulted on the promised date of delivery even the refund he is entitled to is being delayed The MahaRERA had directed the developer to give Sarode a refund last year It has been a mentally and physically exhausting task It feels like I am going to lose all my hardearned money over this dream house I had booked almost eight years ago while I was employed overseas said a dejected SarodeThe buyers were given cheques for a part payment against their signatures for receipt on June 27 File picsCurrently residing at Kotachi Wadi Girgaum Sarode had paid R66 lakh towards the flat cost 1 bhk measuring 680 sq feet for which he had taken a bank loan of R34 lakh and still owes R1050 lakh towards the home loan He continues to pay an EMI of R33000 till dateI would skip my lunch break and visit the talathi office to follow up on the MahaRERA order regarding attaching the developers property transferring debtors property to creditor The developer first delayed the construction work and is now delaying execution of the MahaRERA order Sarode said adding MahaRERA has issued an order under section 40 of the RERA act wherein I was entitled to R71 lakh from the builder for withdrawing from the project It would have helped me clear my bank loanSainath SarodeSeal tamperedAfter a lot of persuasion and follow up Suburban Collector who was directed by MahaRERA to attach the developers property it was done through the tahisildar office Borivli who directed the talathi office in Kandivli to do the needful When the developer repeatedly failed to respond the talathi office sealed a floor and two cabins of the ground plus four storey office of Ms Vidhi developers in Kandivli WestAlso Read Residential complex builders violated safety normsHowever one of its staff had tampered with the seal to continue using the premises A flat buyer said On June 24 Sarode and a few of us visited the suburban collector Sachin Kurve and informed him about tampering of the seal The collector immediately called in the tahisildar and the entire premises was sealed againStopped paymentFour homebuyers were asked to be present at the tahisildar office on June 27 and accordingly Rinchen Wangdi Suryakant Kelkar Rupa Shetty and another buyer visited him A part payment cheque of R20 lakh each was given to them on behalf of the builder and we were made to sign a receipt for the same he added However all of them soon received an intimation from the bank that the payment had been stopped by the builder I do not want the property and would want to close this chapter after receiving the refund I wont accept any part payment hereafter as it only shows that the developer does not adhere to directives from the collector office It is unfortunate said a flat buyerThe buyers lawyer advocate Godfrey Pimenta said This is a serious issue and the builder is liable for proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act The order in this matter was passed in October 2018 for the attachment of the property of the builder It is almost eight months now but the flat purchasers are yet to receive the refundRepresentatives of Ms Vidhi developers did not respond to our callsRs 20 lakhAmount for which builder issued cheques to four buyersCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates