Builder draws buyers’ ire for ‘cheating’

Ekta World, that was served legal notice from Mhada, now accused of delaying possession.

Mumbai-based developer Ekta World, which was recently slapped with a legal notice by the state housing agency for misleading advertising, is in trouble once again for allegedly cheating and delaying possession of its flats.

Flat buyers across the city and country who booked flats in Virar and Nashik, the projects aggressively advertised by Ekta World back in 2011, are now planning to file a case against the owner of the firm Ashok Mohanani for cheating them.

The buyers' gripe is that the possession has been delayed by three years. They also claimed that an agreement which they were made to sign on was completely exploitative and one-sided. Besides, the amenities mentioned in the brochure and in the agreement differed, they said.

Just a few weeks ago, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada), had issued a legal notice to actor Anil Kapoor for appearing in an advertisement for Ekta World in which the developer had claimed that the company is offering flats in Virar and Nashik at rates cheaper than that of Mhada. This the housing authority claimed was damaging the image of Mhada and violated regulations of the Advertising Standards Council of India.

The projects promoted by the developer are Ekta Parksville, which has 1, 2 and 3BHK apartments in Virar and Ekta Greenville, which has 2 and 3BHK apartments in Nashik.

Gurgaon-based Vineet Malik, who had booked a 1 BHK flat in 2011 for Rs 28 lakh in Virar was promised possession in 2013, but has not got it till date. "The developer offered me handshake of friendship and I believing him gracefully accepted it. It doesn't take five years to construct and give possession of a flat. I have made 95 per cent of the payment and still am not sure when I will get possession."

Another Nashik-based buyer Prasad Joshi, who had booked a 2 BHK in Nashik, said, "In my case, it is clearly mentioned that possession will given by April 2014, but I have not got it yet and there is no proper response from the developer. I will drag the developer to the consumer court.”

However, when contacted, Ashok Mohanani, developer, Ekta World, said, "With the changing regulations at times, there are delays in approvals, but we are pretty much on schedule with our projects. There had been shortage of natural resources such as sand, among others, which set back the completion timeline in just one project; however, it is my continuous endeavour to meet timelines.”

Recently, Prabhat Kumar, state special inspector general of police, issued a circular that stated that complaint should be registered against builders who fail to hand over possession on time to buyers or deliver flats without obtaining occupation certificate.