The Brave Pedestrian

Mumbai, 22 August, 2018: Bhagtani Savannah victims have gotten used to being kept in the dark, and making their legal decisions based on very little information. In this respect, Vrushali Patil's case was like a bright ray of light in a dimly-lit room. Whatever else the merits or demerits of this legal initiative, one major benefit was the enormous amount of information that it yielded -- not only for Savannah but for Bhagtani victims of all Bhagtani projects. Paradoxically, people seem to have little willingness to analyze and digest this information! It appears that Bhagtani victims have grown tired of exercising their brains. "When are we getting our money or our flats? We are exhausted! We don't want to use our brains any longer!" is what they seem to be saying. (This is a natural human reaction in the face of tragic loss and hopelessness, but unfortunately, such reactions will not lead to any productive results!)  Of the 1300 pages of material available, ...

Mumbai, 27 April, 2018: Here is a live example of how Lodha Group traps unwary flat-purchasers by imposing unfair terms and conditions. Kavita Shinde booked flat no. A401 in Casa Treetop in Lodha Upper Thane, located on Mumbai-Nashik Highway, and has been receiving extortionate demand letters to pay late-fees for a delay in payment, although she had not delayed any payment.  Kavita booked her flat on 11th May, 2017 by paying Rs 90,000/-, and followed this up by paying Rs 3.17 lakhs on 5th June, 2017. As per the application form, the next "milestone" was executing the registered agreement. The third installment could become payable only after the registration. Example of  Lodha Group's payment schedule, mentioned in the Application Form. Quite often, these schedules mention strict deadlines such as 45 days between consecutive payments. Lodha Group delayed the registration until November. And then, just as Kavita was preparing to pay her next installment...

Mumbai, 18th November, 2017: Click on the title to read that article. A. Voices of Bhagtani Victims Bhagtani Victims' Voices #5: Subiya Shaikh, a school teacher, on Bhagtani Serenity in Powai Bhagtani Victims Voices #4: Ketan Gajara writes about Bhagtani Serenity, Powai Bhagtani Victims' Voices #3: Shalin Agrawal, a cheated ad agency in Serena project Bhagtani Victims' Voices #2: Dr John Paul on Bhagtani Sapphire, Dahisar   Bhagtani Victims' Voices #1: Branson, Imran & others on Bhagtani Serenity Project, Powai B. About court proceedings Open Letter to CJ about Justice Badar's zigzag orders in Bhagtani ABA How Bhagtani Victims must respond to latest High Court order   Justice Badar's sudden change of ringtone   Bombay High Court Order on Bhagtani Riyo -- what it means   Repay all Bhagtani Riyo Victims: Bombay High Court   Bombay HC Order: Slap in Face for Bhagtani Builders, Relief for Riyo Project Victim...

Flat buyers aren't the only victims of Bhagtani builders. Vendors, lenders and contractors have also been cheated out of crores of rupees. So far, most of them have maintained a stoic silence. But one vendor is now going public with his story -- Shalin Agrawal of Spectrumm Services, who lost over Rs 15 lakh by advertizing Bhagtani Serena project on hoardings on buses and at railway station. Sir, I am into Advertising & Printing Business. I did 2-3 campaign for Jaycee Homes and their group companies like MD Devcon & Unit One Inc Media Services since 2014. In May-June 2016, they approached me for hoardings and other marketing activities of another project in Mira Road East called Serena. Looking to their previous history for late payment, I refused to do it. To persuade me to take up the job, they gave two months post-dated cheques (PDCs) from ‘Jaycee Home’ for Rs. 13.68 lacs, and so I took the order. In the meanwhile, I also did some printing jobs of Rs. 1.4...

Mumbai, 31st March, 2017: Unknown to most Mumbaikars, MCGM issued a circular last week giving notice that the Capital Valuation for the forthcoming years has been completed for determining property tax applicable to property owners and that "they will be available for inspection at the office of the Asstt. Assessor and Collector in the respective wards … between 23rd March 2017 to 13th April 2017." It added that "complaints against the Capital Values... must be made in writing by the property owners themselves or by the persons duly authorized by them under a power of attorney." BMC’s notice may be downloaded from this link:   http://bit.ly/MCGM-Notice-23-3-2017 Sometimes, the assessment department makes mistakes in fixing the capital value, which results in huge disputed dues. If the window of opportunity given under the circular is not promptly availed, then property owners such as housing societies are left with the costly option of going to...