The Brave Pedestrian

Mumbai, 10th January, 2019: After receiving reports from a trusted architect's firm that the carpet area of her two flats at Lodha New Cuffe Parade was 27% and 30% smaller than mentioned in the registered agreement, Dioro flat-owner Shilpi Thard filed a complaint with the Police Commissioner of Mumbai.  The angry flat owner has requested the Crime Branch and/or Economic Offense Wing of Mumbai Police to register an FIR against Lodha Developers Limited. Reproduced below is her emailed police complaint:   ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Shil T < shilpithard@gmail.com > Date: Thu, Jan 10, 2019 at 3:45 PM Subject: To: < cp.mumbai@mahapolice.gov.in >, < cp.mumbai.jtcp.crime@ mahapolice.gov.in >, < jtcp.eow@mahapolice.gov.in > From : Shilpi Thard & Amit Jaisingh Villa 426, Concorde Napa Valley, Kanakpura Road, Kagglipura Post, Bangalore 560082 To : Police Commissioner of Mumbai Police Commissioner's Office, Main Buil...

Mumbai, 9th January 2019: Crorepati residents of Lodha New Cuffe Parade project, please take a good look at cricket pitch, football field and five-star lifestyle of your tower, and ask yourselves if this is the lifestyle that Lodha group promised you in the glossy brochures and full page advertisements. The residential towers of Lodha NCP -- namely Dioro, Evoq, Enchante and Elisium -- have received a partial Occupancy Certificate. MMRDA, the civic body that issued this certificate, thinks that these towers are fit for human habitation. But are they really? If they are fit for habitation, why is there so much construction material and rubble in the playgrounds and recreational spaces? And why is there so much construction netting all around the towers? Why are the residents restricted from accessing the open-to-sky spaces around the towers? The answer is: beecause there is a very high probability that some construction materials will come crashing down from the terrace on ...

Mumbai, 7th January, 2019: Attention proud owners of flats at Lodha New Cuffe Parade, Wadala! To expose the weakness of the internal walls provided by Lodha builders, this live test was performed and filmed at the flat of Shilpi Thard at Dioro tower, for educational & awareness purpose. (If it was not for Shilpi's permission and generous encouragement, such destructive testing would not have been possible!) By this test, we demonstrated how an internal wall can be easily ripped open with bare hands, without any tools. The flimsy framework and the low-quality layer of glass wool was exposed, to show you the true value of your flat. The walls of flats at Lodha NCP are completely worthless! After watching this video, you can understand that the labour and material cost of constructing internal walls of the entire house may not exceed Rs 50K. It is hypothetically possible for one or two men to tear down any flat within an hour, reducing it into a ba...

3rd January, 2019, Mumbai: In November 2017, we published an article titled, " Measure your flat, Lodha Group has cheated you ". Anil Kapur (name changed), the owner of a 1BHK studio apartment at Lodha Belmondo project, near Pune, took our advice seriously. He hired a chartered engineer & valuer to measure his flat. The engineer-valuer's report finding is that the actual carpet area is over 12 percent less than the 490 square feet mentioned in the registered agreement. The actual carpet area is 430 sq ft i.e. 60 sq. ft. less. Even if we count "exclusive terrace" and "exclusive balcony" area, the Belmondo flat is 30 sq. ft. less! What the valuer's draft report says: Based on the valuer's report, and also triggered by the builders' workers trespassing on his flat (detailed in this article ), Anil Kapur has filed a police complaint at Talegaon Police Station . Kapur hopes that FIR will soon be registered against L...

2nd January, 2019: Visualize this situation. You buy a flat and take possession, but unknown to you, the seller secretly retains a key and hands it over to a bunch of workers. The workers use the key to enter your flat whenever they want. Forget seeking your permission, they don't even inform you, and they don't even ring the doorbell. They just open the door and take you by surprise! This is the situation that the people of Lodha Belmondo project near Pune have been experiencing.  Anil Kapur (name changed) bought a studio apartment in the much-hyped Lodha Belmondo project and took possession in January 2018. Ten months later, Kapur was in his house, and was startled by workmen opening his front door. He didn't know how many times this may have happened when he was not home! Anil immediately recorded a video of the incident, interrogated the workmen, and informed the management. Workmen at Lodha Belmondo carrying a jar of keys of various flats. In a mobile-video r...

Mumbai, 8th December 2018: Going behind the backs of the flat owners and residents of the posh Lodha New Cuffe Parade, a Lodha employee named Vinod R Parab has submitted applications on behalf of Dioro, Elisium, Enchante (and maybe Evoq also) to the state cooperation department on 17th October, 2018.   Lodha employee Vinod R Parab, who gave his residence address as "BDD Chawl, NM Joshi Marg, Mumbai 400011" claimed to have been elected as chief promoter by nine flat-owners each of Dioro, Elisium and Enchante.  Many flat-owners, when contacted, said that they had no knowledge of their name and signature being on such an application!  EVIDENTLY, NO SUCH ELECTIONS EVER HAPPENED. The law requires that a meeting of the promoters of the proposed cooperative society is held, where the chief promoter is elected, and a resolution is passed for seeking a certain name registration by the government department. It is evident that no such meeting was held. It i...

Mumbai, 12 November, 2018: If Lodha New Cuffe Parade were a movie, it might get a one-star rating out of five from its present occupants; and it would be "A" rated, because it is scary and unsafe for children. If Lodha New Cuffe Parade were a car, it would have to be recalled. Lodha NCP Wadala is touted as a super-luxury real estate project, and each flat is sold at between Rs 2.5 to 7 cr. But customers are not just disappointed, they are shocked to discover that these super-expensive flats flats are poorly designed, made of poor-quality materials, substandard, defective, prone to damage and seepage. Basic design flaws in the flats, the towers, and the entire layout, make it dangerous for occupants, maintenance staff and passersby.  Lodha NCP towers like Dioro, Enchante and Evoq have got part-OC (Occupation Certificate) from MMRDA, but they are unfit for habitation. The part-OC appears to be due to MMRDA officials' negligence or corruption, or both. MMRDA appea...