BENGALURU: The 266 home buyers of apartments in a posh residential complex at Haralur village are facing a bleak future. After investing all their savings in flats in ‘Frontier Heights’ in Varthur hobli, they are clueless about the fate of their homes. The builder has neither completed it, nor has he adhered to an order passed by the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) over a year ago.
The Rs 120-crore project has 15 floors (plus a ground floor) with five blocks. The office of the developer, Frontier Shelters Pvt Ltd, is in Koramangala. Proprietor Anand Reddy, who resides in the same area, is unreachable. This despite homebuyers repeatedly staging protests outside his residence.
Cases have been filed with K-RERA, consumer court and the local police station but there seems to be no relief in sight for them. Among the desperate owners are Himshika Das and her husband Himanshu Lahkar. “We bought a 3BHK apartment, making full payment of nearly Rs 1 crore in April 2018, with the assurance that it would be ready for handover by June 2019. Initially, Covid and labour shortage were given as reasons for non-completion. It is the end of 2024 now and there is no sign of our house being handed over to us,” she told TNIE.
Sadananda Bhat bought a 3BHK house of a different dimension, for Rs 75 lakh. “I bought my property in September 2017. So far, I have paid up to Rs 69 lakh. Initially, it was planned as a ground-plus-11 structure, the plan was later modified to make it 15 floors,” he explained.
Due to the huge delay in handover, as many as 40 owners have individually filed cases in the consumer court, he added.
Bhat had taken a home loan to purchase it. “I am paying my EMI regularly. Apart from that, I am paying rent for the house where I reside presently. It is a huge financial burden,” he said. He adds that the plight of many others is worse. The builder had promised to pay their pre-EMI interest charges and trusting him, many took loans from the bank under the Subvention Scheme and handed it over to him for their homes. “For some time, the builder paid the interest but later stopped it. Hence, they are now paying interest on it with no EMI amount being paid. The banks refuse to convert the scheme into a regular home loan,” he explained.
TNIE has a copy of the RERA verdict issued on September 15, 2023, in connection with a case filed by Ashish Kumar Pandey and Neeti Mishra, who were promised their flat on October 1, 2019. The court has ordered payment of Rs 69.41 lakh as interest for the period of delay till May 21, 2023. It had ordered payment to be made within 60 days of the order as well as handover of the completed flat within the period. It has been ignored by the builder.
Marketing manager of Frontier Shelters, Arnab, who was the point of contact for buyers, told TNIE, “I have put in my papers. I have nothing to do with the company anymore.” Despite repeated calls and messages, proprietor Anand Reddy could not be reached for comment.