Redevelopment: Lies, Damned Lies and Minutes of Meetings

20th November, 2015, Mumbai: In most cooperative societies, minutes of general body meetings have some half-truths and omissions, but Mulund’s Shree Gurukrupa Nagar Cooperative Housing Society shows how minutes drafted with blatant lies can easily escape detection by the general body! The draft minutes of a crucial SGM held on 24th May 2014, authored by Shree Gurukrupa Nagar Secretary Sanjay Jadhav and Chairman Anil Shah, pass off their illegal decisions favouring builders as general body decisions.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

At the SGM held on 24th May 2014, the society members followed the recommendations of PMC Atul Mehta and signed a consent selecting Siresukan Realty and Bharat Jain alias Talesara as the builder for their redevelopment. Accordingly, the managing committee issued a Letter Of Intent (LOI) in favour of Bharat  Jain / Talesara, partner, Siresukan Realty. See the following documents:

1)    Notice of meeting says successful bidder will be selected  

2)    PMC selectsSiresukan Realty among three bidders

3)    Members sign consent for Siresukan Realty

4)    Managing committee issues LOI to Siresukan Realty

WHAT THE MINUTES CLAIMS

The minutes circulated three days later tells four blatant lies:

1)      It claims that the draft minutes of 24th May 2014 were passed by a resolution at the meeting held on 24th May 2014. In other words, the draft minutes circulated on 27th May were passed three days earlier! This is not a mistake, it is deliberate, because the office-bearers avoid placing the minutes before the general body on any later date!

2)      It claims that PMC recommended “Concrete Siresukan Realty LLP” at the meeting. False! PMC recommended Siresukan Realty, which is supposedly a partnership firm of the brothers Bharat Jain and Mukesh Jain, and not Concrete Siresukan Realty LLP, which is wholly owned by Anuj Desai and Nilesh Dalal.

3)      It claims that members consented to Concrete Siresukan Realty LLP. False! They signed a consent in favour of Bharat Jain and Siresukan Realty, and not Concrete Siresukan Realty LLP.

4)      It claims that managing committee issued a Letter Of Intent (LOI) in favour of Concrete Siresukan Realty LLP. False! LOI was issued to Bharat Jain and Siresukan Realty.

The general body meeting held on 24th May 2014 endowed the development rights on Bharat Sukanraj Jain alias Talesara, an estate agent posing as a builder. Within three days, Talesara sold the development rights to Anuj Desai and Nilesh Dalal of Concrete Group of builders, in return for nine percent of the profits, and they went on to form Concrete Siresukan Realty LLP two months later! The office-bearers of Shree Gurukrupa Nagar are clearly part of this deal.

The only hitch is that seven out of the 72 members of Shree Gurukrupa Nagar, who are conscious of their rights, refuse to be bought and sold like cattle.

WHY REDEVELOPMENT DEALS ARE BIASED AGAINST FLAT-OWNERS

When cooperative housing societies go for redevelopment, the society’s elected office-bearers become pro-builders and anti-members. Flat-owners get a sinking feeling when the chairman, secretary and treasurer start arguing on the side of builders, ignoring their responsibility to represent the society member’s interest. Shree Gurukrupa Nagar Cooperative Housing Society is a shining example. This video shows Secretary Sanjay Jadhav flatly refusing to negotiate with the builder to raise his offer-price for purchase of any flat from Rs 14,000/- per square foot to the prevailing market price of Rs 20,000/- per sq. ft. When the member, Amisha Gandhi, points out that she recently sold a flat to her brother-in-law at Rs 20,000/- per sq. ft., he responds by saying, “It is your personal matter”.

Any member who dares to ask pointed questions at a meeting is told to keep quiet. He is shouted at and ridiculed by the office-bearers and builders seated on the dais, plus their stooges in the general body! It is an unequal fight. See this video here Amisha Gandhi stands alone as she is hounded at a Special General Meeting. This meeting was supposedly convened for showing builders’ documents for answering queries raised by her group in writing!

The majority of the society’s members, like Mahatma Gandhi’s three monkeys, follow a policy of “See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil”; they believe that their ignorance is bliss, and that there is no need to read any documents before signing on them. Like herds of cattle being led to a slaughterhouse, they continue to believe that there is safety in numbers. Amazing? Yes, amazing, but such herd-mentality is the norm in cooperative housing societies. And that is why redevelopment deals generally tilt in favour of builders, and against the interests of flat-owners.

ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY

Krishnaraj Rao

9821588114

krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

Previous press releases on related topics:

1)    How PMCs undervalue redevelopment projects &generate black money

2)    Exposed: How Estate Agents make false claims totrap societies going for redevelopment

3)    How Builders Hijack Redevelopment Projects -- step by step