Mumbai: MahaRERA with buyers against bank notice to auction properties

In a rare instance the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority MahaRERA has directed the Pune Peoples Cooperative Bank who took possession of nearly five acres of land and five underconstruction buildings in Alibaug from a developer who defaulted payment of R7 crores to let the association of allottees complete the project which MahaRERA had earlier directed and cooperate with them for the sameOut of 230 flats around 135 have been sold and the association was formed with 85 members This is a rare order as the bank claimed to have High Court order to seek possession of the land and property and yet within a few days of the MahaRERA order the bank put a public notice for auctioning the property which the association opposed and put a counter advertisement requesting public to refrain from responding to the noticeThe issueShankar Gawade 53 a resident of Ghatkopar who is also a banker and Secretary of Cida DE Vida Apartment owners association said It is unfair that the customers are made a scapegoat and are being deprived of completing the incomplete project that has been stalled by the developer for last three years Many of them are paying interest to the banks for the housing loan and now Pune Peoples Cooperative Bank after acknowledging to support the completion of the project before MahaRERA hasgone against their word and put an auction advertisement which we have objectedGawade added The project is spread on nearly five acres of land at Kavir village Alibaug and this was the first project for Ms Disha Direct Marketing Services P Ltd The developers had planned to make the project with a Goan theme and were to construct a replica of Goa architecture with artificial beach landscaping and the plan was to build a resort in the other plot eventually They marketed the project in this manner attracted several buyersThe project was to have 3 BHK studio apartments for R20 lakh to R40 lakhs I was amongst the few buyers who invested during the initial stage and was happy with the work speed when it started in 2012 But by 2017 the construction stopped explained Gawade He further added We later learnt that the developers had gone bankrupt and that the bank had given a loan to the developers and had claimed the rights under the Securitisation Act We have residents who availed mortgaged loan from the bank for buying the house and how can the bank claim rights over the land and structure for recovering their loan and take over the property worth over R40 crores said GawadeWe are suspecting a nexus between the developer and the bank as the project could be auctioned at a throwaway price where the bank can easily recover their dues and later the developer can benefit with the kickbacks leaving the flat buyers in a lurch Gawade addedAdvocate Avinash Pawar who represented the owners association before MahaRERA said We strongly condemn the actions of the bank to publish the notice We will take legal recourse including filing a petition before Bombay High CourtWhat MahaRERA order saysIn his order copy with this paper Dr Vijay Satbir Singh Member 1 MahaRERA clubbed three complaints together and stated The complainant has filed the complaint seeking directions from MahaRERA to the respondent Ms Disha Direct Marketing Services P Ltd to handover the possession along with the interest and protect the rights of the members of the association The other two complainants have sought a refund of the amount paid by themDuring the hearing it was noticed that according to information on MahaRERA website the validity of the project has lapsed on December 31 2019 Also the developer had not uploaded Form 4 and occupancy certificate on the website which showed that the project is still incompleteIt was also informed to MahaRERA that the complainants owners association had already formed an association of allottees and filed the complaint through the association Further the possession of the said project is with the respondent no 2 Ms Pune Peoples Cooperative Bank and the bank has no objection if the association can complete the project or appoint a new promoter which can protect their rightsActed as per the lawWhen contacted Sanjay Jaqtab Deputy General Manager of the bank said We sanctioned a total of R7 crores towards the project for the developer But the company defaulted payment for the last two years and we had to carry out the recovery proceedings as per law before the Debt Recovery Tribunal DRT and also before the Bombay HCRs 7crThe amount defaulted by the developerCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates