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Home > Mumbai > Mumbai News > Article > Mumbai Tenants members of Jogeshwari building say society secretary making their life hell

Mumbai: Tenants, members of Jogeshwari building say society secretary making their life hell

Updated on: 08 October,2021 08:03 AM IST  |  Mumbai
Somita Pal |

Residents of Jogeshwari building say bizarre rules like what to wear on the premises, sudden home inspections are being thrust on them; secretary insists they are for safety

Mumbai: Tenants, members of Jogeshwari building say society secretary making their life hell

Tenant Richa Mallik says puppies born in the society are being driven away

The tenants and few members of a Jogeshwari society are up in arms against their secretary for allegedly issuing diktats ranging from what the residents should wear to home inspections as per whims to unreasonable conditions for guests. While the tenants and members call it a violation of their constitutional rights, the ‘secretary’ insists he is trying to keep the place safe.


Members of Atharva CHS off Veera Desai Road said the secretary, Venkatesh Kulkarni, has made it mandatory for tenants to get his approval before allowing guests, including tenants’ parents and family members home or getting courier and food delivery boys come to their doorstep.


They said Kulkarni, a retired bureaucrat, has had several run-ins with members and tenants for dictating what women should wear on the society premises to making sudden “inspection visits” to people’s homes. The 9-storey building has 16 flats, half of which have tenants. The owners of only four of the other flats live there.


What has particularly upset the tenants is a circular that says, “No unidentified and unauthorised person will be allowed to enter the society premises by the security guard. If any guest is coming to the tenants flat, who is not listed in the verified agreement copies, should submit a copy of intimation consisting of details such as guests names, duration of stay and purpose of stay to the society office.”

Filmmaker Prashant Singh, a tenant in the building for two and half years, said his parents who live in Kalyan were being stopped from entering the building without the permission of the secretary. “I live by myself with a dog and a cat. Friends and family come if I’m travelling for work at short notice to stay and care for my pets. How can I go to the secretary for permission all the time just for visitors to come home,” he questioned. Singh approached the Amboli police who told him that such rules cannot be enforced. But the secretary is adamant.

Singh is not alone. On November 12 last year, Kulkarni had called the mother of a well-known music composer a “sex worker” insisting that they were not mother and son and that they were running a prostitution racket from their home. “I lodged a formal complaint with the police about this man and was assured that action will be taken. If it was done then, he would not be emboldened to this extent,” said the composer.

It is not that tenants alone are up in arms. Amala Chenvankar, 69, who owns flat 702 told mid-day, “In the past too he has harassed tenants into leaving,” and added, “As flat owners we object to this dictatorship and ask for tenants’ rights to be respected.”

Pushpa Kamble, 70, of Flat 201 said two of her tenants left due to harassment by Kulkarni. “I’m very worried about these ‘rules’ because if tenants keep getting chased away, we’ll lose rent. During the pandemic when everything is in a tizzy this only adds to our financial woes.” Kulkarni has also thrown away the stray dogs that were taking shelter in the society compound.

Tenant Richa Mallick, 36, who has been taking care of the dogs, said, “He has asked to remove and relocate the puppies born in the building when I personally have got them all vaccinated, groomed, trained and fed them. They need shelter in rain and heat. I am ready to pay the society and take the guarantee for cleanliness on the campus. Their onus is on me and even the high court has asked us to be kind to the voiceless.”  Kulkarni asserted that he would not withdraw the rule. “I am doing this for their own good and safety. If they don’t like it, both tenants and owners should move out,” he said.

Khap-type behaviour: Expert

Abha Singh, a former civil servant and an advocate practising in Bombay HC, said no secretary can make rules as per his/her own whims and fancies. “No housing societies can have a rule that violates the law of the land.” Singh, also a renowned activist, added, “I will call this Khap-type behaviour which is declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The secretary cannot certify who will enter the society and who will go. You will have to follow what BMC guidelines are.”

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