Bhagtani Victims Voices #4: Ketan Gajara writes about Bhagtani Serenity, Powai

My name is Ketan Gajara, and I am 37 years old, married and with two daughters, and my family and I are still staying at my brother's house. Naturally, I wanted to purchase my own house and move into it. I first visited the project site of Bhagtani Serenity in Powai in July 2014, having heard about it from broker Vijay Morarka. After this site visit, I visited the office of JVPD Properties Pvt Ltd along with the broker for a discussion. The employees of JVPD Properties told us that the MCGM’s IOD approval was about to arrive, and construction work would start after three months and get completed by 2017-2018.They showed us documents showing that they had title over the land, and that the builders, namely Bhagtanis, had completed many projects. Based on these claims, I was convinced to book a 1BHK  flat in Serenity project.

In order to get a better rate per square foot, I decided to pay 30% of the total flat cost up front. So, I paid a booking amount of Rs 23.54 lakhs out of the total consideration amount of Rs.76.12 lakhs, not including taxes and stamp duty. My payment details are below:

Sr. No.	Bank Name	Cheque No.	Date	Amount (Rs.)	Component
1	Bank of Baroda	000001	06/07/2014	9,00,000/-	Flat cost
2	ICICI Bank	552704	20/07/2014	6,50,000/-	Flat cost
3	ICICI Bank	552705	05/08/2014	7,33,750/-	Flat cost
4	ICICI Bank	552707	06/07/2014	70,568/-	Service Tax
	Total Rs.			23,54,318/-

Rs 23.5 lakhs was the entire savings of my career, and I handed it over to Bhagtani builders in the hope of buying my own flat. When I received my allotment letter on 11 Aug 2014 for flat number B-3704, it was like a dream-come-true. I was happy that finally, I had bought my own house. Little did I know that this was actually the beginning of a nightmare! 

Whenever I called up to enquire about the status, JVPD Properties’ CRM team told me that IOD was delayed. I was in continuous touch with the Smriti Nair, Khushbu, Romit Luthra, Aarti and Dilip. Anxious to know what was going on, I visited their Santacruz office and met Mukesh and Dipesh Bhagtani two times. Their response was always the same: “Work will get start soon, please bear with us for 2-3 months more”.

Finally, on 28 Apr 2016, I received an email from the CRM team stating that IOD had been received. The next day, I received a call from them asking me to pay the next installment of 10%, but I could not trust them now. I asked them to show me the IOD copy first, and they did not revert.

On 24 March 2017, I got another letter claiming that IOD and CC had both been received. Again, they asked me to pay installment of 10%. Again I asked for details about project commencement date and construction schedule. Again, they did not revert. In the absence of proper information, I refused to make further payment. I kept visiting the site frequently, but I saw no progress whatsoever.

Having lost all my faith, I visited their office on 1st July, 2017, along with my broker, met Mukesh Bhagtani and informed him of my decision to cancel my booking. I submitted a letter of cancellation and asked for my money to be returned with 15% interest. Mukesh Bhagtani said that I would have to wait for at least 15 months for my refund. I did not sign the cancellation deed as my need of money was urgent. After lots of heated discussion, Mukesh Bhagtani suggested that I should transfer my booking to a 1BHK flat in their Santacruz project called Bhagtani One. 

I visited the proposed flat on 1st floor of Bhagtani One along with my broker, but the price of the flat -- Rs 2 Cr -- is beyond my budget. Still, my broker suggested the option for seeking bank financing for this flat, and I was desperate enough to consider it. Mukesh Bhagtani asked his employee Mihir to coordinate with the financing agency. The people from the financing agency visited the project and asked for some documents, but Bhagtani's people did not revert with the documents, and so even this proposal fell through.

I find now that Serenity project has been registered with Rera (Registration no. P51800011181) but the project completion date is 2025. I can't wait till 2025! I want my money back so that I can buy a house and stop living at my brother's house. This situation is completely out of control, and I feel completely helpless!

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Written by Ketan Gajara

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ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BYKrishnaraj Rao
9821588114
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