BENGALURU: The Real Estate Regulatory Authority-Karnataka (RERA-K) has handed over yet another incomplete residential project to an association formed by flat allottees for completion. Additionally, the Authority has ordered the financial institution which funded the builder to pay Rs 4.49 crore to the association to complete the project.
‘Commune One’. a project on the Anekal-Chandapura Road of Anekal taluk with 384 flats comprising 1BHK, 2BHK and 3BHK, had not been completed by the builder, Commune Properties Pvt Ltd. The company mortgaged the flats to Mumbai-based Anand Rathi Global Finance Limited (ARGFL) to mobilise resources without the consent of the allottees.
The order was passed by RERA Chairman HC Kishore Chandra and members Neelamani N Raju and GR Reddy on May 17 on the complaint registered by Commune One Owners Cooperative Society and Commune Buyers Welfare Association in February 2021.
Advocate Pradeep Kumar of Pradeep Kumar PK & Associates, who represented the allottees, told TNIE, “The buyers had paid between Rs 45 lakh and Rs 55 lakh to buy the flats. The project has five blocks with many interior works still incomplete. The A Block has the maximum work pending.”
He said, “This is a landmark judgment because the collusion between the financial institution and the builder is fully exposed in the inquiry by RERA. It has now directed the financier to pay the allottees’ association (registered as cooperative society) the money which it had taken illegally. “
He charged that the institution had entered into a fraudulent MoU with the builder. “To facilitate recovery of the loan, the builder sold 40 flats at just Rs 20 lakh per flat to the financier. The excess amount expected to be mobilised by selling the flats at a higher price by Anand Rathi was to be handed over to the builder. So far 18 flats have been sold and Rs 4.39 crore extra money has been mobilised by the financier,” he explained.
The builder has been asked to hand over all the documents and bank statements to the association. The allottees will also pool in the additional amount to complete the project.