BENGALURU: The simmering tussle between the builder and home owners of upscale HM Tambourine apartments on Kanakapura Road, came to a boil on Saturday. Representatives of the builder HM Infratech Pvt Ltd tore down flex banners erected by residents at the entry gates and damaged an internal fence erected by them. The home owners submitted a complaint against the builder at Puttenahalli police station.
Abdul Aleem, member of the Legal Committee, HM Tambourine Apartment Owners’ Association, which has 2,000-plus residents, told TNIE, “We put up two flex banners at both the entries, stating that the property was under litigation. This angered the builder and a group of goondas removed our banners on March 1. They also removed the internal fencing done by us so we approached police.”
Yogesh AN, member of the association’s managing committee, said, “The issue between the two groups dates back to 2017. Houses in four blocks were handed over to owners in 2006 itself and an association formed to manage their affairs shortly after that. By 2017, when BBMP announced that the FAR (Floor Area Ratio) to construct houses had been increased from 2 to 3.25 in areas along the Metro network, HM Infratech approached BDA and got a modified sanction plan,” he added.
The builder, who was still working on other blocks, tried to build more houses in the area, which the residents strongly opposed. “The builder owns 23% of the area and cannot build on our property now,” he said.
Aleem added, “The confusion over ownership of the common area in apartments is causing this issue. We filed two cases in the High Court to prevent them from going ahead with any construction in four blocks but the builder keeps attempting to build more flats in the block.”
Despite repeated attempts, the builder’s representative could not be reached.