Ghatkopar complex residents paid lakhs since 2015 for 'betterment'

The mega residential housing complex in Vidyavihar W Neelkanth Kingdom seems to already be deep in hot water as it has now emerged that bank accounts operated on behalf of its proposed society have been frozen for months after a whistleblower resident wrote to the Reserve Bank of India over irregularitiesmidday had reported that over 300 residents were issued showcause notices by the BMC for carrying out various violations on August 24 Ghatkopar complex gets notice for no OC in rare rap Notices were also served to the developer and licensed surveyor for allowing flat buyers to move in without an Occupation Certificate OC Neelkanth Kingdom is spread over more than 25 acres and its Phase 1 comprises 7 buildingsWhistleblower speaksSolicitor Stuti Galiya has found many wrongdoings in the complex ever since she moved into it Stuti said ldquoWe residents were unaware until we received letters calling upon us to pay charges The letters were sent on behalf of CHS Ltd Proposed and two flat owners had declared themselves chairman and secretaryrdquo This is a violation under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 which says that only a registered cooperative housing society can use the word lsquocooperativersquoStuti learnt that some residents had been collecting money for the betterment of the complex for past 45 years Initially these amounts were collected in cash She said subsequently seven accounts were opened in the name of a proposed CHS Ltd with Cosmos Bank Ghatkopar West in the year 2015 It is learnt that the quarterly collection per flat lsquofor betterment and beautificationrsquo was approximately R12000R30000 Interestingly maintenance charges were collected by the builder annuallyAlso ReadGhatkopar complex gets notice for no OC in rare rapRTI information soughtShe added ldquoWe made an application to the Deputy Registrarrsquos office N Ward to verify if there was any registered housing society or name reservation approval granted The office replied that there was no such housing society in placerdquoAlerted RBIStuti then wrote to RBI and asked it to enquire how Cosmos Bank was able to open accounts in the name of a proposed CHS Ltd and without KYC documents such as a PAN card ldquoWe contacted the Ministry of Finance on whose directions the RBI initiated a quick enquiry but the lsquooffice bearersrsquo closed the seven Cosmos Bank accounts in the year 2018rdquo said StutiOffice bearers confrontedStuti added when confronted the lsquooffice bearersrsquo did not heed them and opened three more accounts with Punjab National Bank PNB Ghatkopar W where the money kept in Cosmos Bank was transferred before those accounts were closed A letter was again circulated by them providing account details of PNB and calling upon residents to pay the money ldquoWe apprised PNB and RBI regarding the illegal manner in which the accounts were opened PNB ordered freezing of its three accounts in January 2019 We are pursuing appropriate legal remediesrdquoOther discrepanciesSome residentsrsquo groups in these buildings illegally later managed to open a Permanent Account Number PAN in the name of a proposed housing society Stuti said that under Indian income tax laws a PAN card can be issued only to a registered entity provided it is able to submit valid documentary proof of its existence and registrationViolation of ActThese residentsrsquo groups have been functioning under fake identity of a proposed housing society for more than four to five years This is a violation of Section 145 of Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 which says that no person other than a registered cooperative housing society can use the word lsquocooperativersquoViolation of normsNo taxes have been paid nor are returns being filed by any of these residentsrsquo groups Further none of them have even obtained mandatory permission from the Charity Commissionerrsquos office as required under the Maharashtra Public Trust Act 1950 before funds are collected by such unregistered associationsAlso ReadMumbai Next disaster is arriving on platform No1 at Ghatkopar railway stationCatch 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