The Brave Pedestrian

  Flat buyers in India typically have a one-sided relationship with the builder. The flat purchaser is tied to the agreement or contract, whereas the builder is usually free. to break the agreement at any point of time. The flat-buyer stands to lose token amount, which is 10% of the consideration value. The builder stands to lose almost nothing if the contracts breaks, and he stands to gain the 10% of the consideration value by doing nothing. The flat-buyer is tied by the 10 percent token that he pays, but the builder is not tied. The entire relationship is at the builder's discretion, will and convenience. Why are flat-buyers entering such one-sided relationships? ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com Mumbai

Mumbai, 25 th May, 2016: While we are sitting in the comfort of our homes, an unfolding tragedy is transforming proud flat-owners into paupers and destitutes who will die in tiny rented homes, senior citizens homes or in the houses of their children, and the memories of the flats that they once owned will be cremated with them. In the name of redevelopment, millions of flat owners are being led like sheep to the slaughter – not only humble salaried workers, unthinking housewives, aged pensioners, over-dependent widows, but also doctors, lawyers, CAs, MBAs, MNC executives, bureaucrats, businessmen, tech-savvy housewives and career-women. Cooperative housing societies are full of financial illiteracy, ignorance of ground realities, overconfidence and gullibility. The redevelopment mantra of cooperative housing societies is: "jo sabka hoga, woh hamara hoga, bharosa rakho" i.e. "What happens to others will happen to us, so have faith." A few thousand buil...