Patra Chawl: A 4-year fight leads up to homes for many
Stakeholders in some towers at Patra Chawl, who have finally received OCs after years of being trapped in a vortex of bureaucratic chaos, revisit the challenges of putting a roof over their heads
MUMBAI: When Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan were arrested back in 2019, in connection with the PMC Bank scam, the country watched with bated breath as the real estate empire they had built started to collapse, showering toxic debris across the economy. The impact extended to Siddharth Nagar, a 47-acre plot in Goregaon, that’s come to be known as Patra Chawl – a reference to the original accommodations on that patch of land.
Caught in a bureaucratic mess since the arrest of the Wadhawans, the prime parcel of land has been at the heart of a heated battle between over 1,700 home buyers, nine prominent real estate developers, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and the original tenants of the plot. Recently, MHADA finally issued occupancy certificates (OC) to two of the for-sale developments on this plot, sparking optimism among other affected parties and allowing all the stakeholders to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
The heart of the problem
The crux of the problem was the fact that the FSI purchased by the nine real estate developers -- Kalpataru, Ekta World, Sangam Lifespaces, KBJ Group and others -- was hinged on the HDIL directors living up to their end of a 2008 agreement with MHADA and the tenants’ society. When Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited (GACPL), a sister concern of HDIL, reneged on their end of the deal by failing to rehabilitate the land’s original tenants and provide additional MHADA housing, MHADA terminated that contract, effectively pulling the rug out from under all the other builders, many of whom had already constructed towers here. These builders, then, petitioned the Bombay High Court (HC) to protect their interests. Parallelly, work on all the projects came to a standstill, leaving some 1,700 home buyers, some who were on the verge of receiving the keys to their flats, in the lurch.
Daring to dream again
Madhu Parasrampuria, who works as a general manager with an Indian MNC, was an affected buyer. He had booked a 987 sqft, 3BHK flat on loan in a Kalpataru tower in 2018. He was promised possession in 2019. Parasrampuria has thus had to pay EMIs on that loan for four years more than he had planned to.
“My father had dementia and I had hoped to give him a comfortable life in that tower, but he passed away in 2021,” said Parasrampuria.
Delighted that MHADA has finally issued an OC for some towers in the project, Parasrampuria wants to focus on the bright future now. Like other projects that have stalled at Patra Chawl, Kalpataru Radiance is expected to house a clubhouse, spa, gymnasium, swimming pool, sports courts and landscaped gardens. Parasrampuria looks forward to the day his wife, mother and sons will get to enjoy these facilities.
Incidentally, his son Kanav, now nine, became the face of the home buyers protest when he stood right at the front of the group during their morcha outside the MHADA building, on a rainy day in September 2022. Another buyer in one of the Kalpataru towers, Rajeev Mohta, who has also led from the front all these years, identifies that morcha as a turning point in their battle.
The bumpy road to change
“Initially, we kept following up with the builder who gave us vague answers,” Mohta recalled. In the early days, buyers worked independently, as they did not know others who were in similar circumstances. A chance email from the builder in which every one was CCed, allowed them to unite. They leveraged the power of social media to reach out to more people, and from April 2022, Kalpataru home buyers started meeting on site every Sunday. “We are all good friends now, even though we are yet to become neighbours,” said Mohta.
Letters were written to the chief minister and prime minister. Home buyers from all the stalled projects took to Twitter to draw attention to over 1,700 families whose life savings were stuck here. Their collective dharna outside the MHADA building caught the attention of policy makers and the public. In October, disgruntled home buyers surprised everyone by turning up at the CREDAI-MCHI flagship event in BKC, to protest at Kalpataru’s stall, holding up ‘Give us our homes’ placards.
“We kept at it to ensure the authorities and builders felt the pressure,” said Dharmesh Padmanabhan, 46, who holds a leadership position with an MNC. Padmanabhan, who has booked an apartment in an Ekta Tripolis tower shared that even as late as February, 2023, “buyers formed a human chain outside the buildings at Patra Chawl”.
Protests were interspersed with meetings with everyone from the Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and local MPs to MLA Vidya Thakur, and Lok Sabha MP Gopal Shetty, “who joined us in one of the dharnas,” added Padmanabhan.
Looking back, he believes that politicians did manage to amplify the voice of aggrieved buyers. He also feels that the directors of Ekta World, at least, “were trying their best to resolve this”. “The builders were made to suffer for no fault of theirs and that suffering was transferred to us,” he said.
Builders have taken a hit, too
Indeed, Ashok Mohanani, Chairman, Ekta World, estimates that the delays and complications with this project will result in a loss of around ₹300 crore to his company. “It’s been a real struggle from 2018 to 2023. Every month, my son Vivek would meet over 100 buyers as we felt it was important to apprise them of all the developments. It meant facing the ire of buyers very often,” said Mohanani. “Buyers ultimately approached the court and the judiciary has been very understanding.”
In March this year, ruling on a petition filed by 15 home buyers from the Ekta Tripolis project, HC directed MHADA to issue an OC to not only that project but also similar completed projects.
“Never has a project taken 10 years to complete,” said Mohanani. Boman Irani, President of CREDAI-MCHI added: “This is a case where the customers suffered on account of delayed possession and the developer suffered losses -- both for no fault of theirs. The HC rightly ruled that OC of the completed buildings be given to customers. Justice has been done.”
Mohanani added: “MHADA has been supportive and understanding in granting OCs. They are working in full swing for the rehab portion, so the tenants should also get possession of their homes very soon.”
A prolonged wait for some
Still waiting on the sidelines for their piece of justice are about 465 home buyers in Meadows, a project that was to be developed on the same plot by Wadhawan’s GACPL. Rahul Thakkar, 50, is part of a group of 225 buyers who have their hopes pegged on MHADA now. “As a government body whose purpose is to provide affordable housing, MHADA should complete our project,” said Thakkar, who has been waiting for 13 years for a home in the complex.
Currently, his family lives with his brother’s family – meaning eight people occupy a Vile Parle (West) apartment roughly the size of the one Thakkar’s nuclear family would have to themselves in Meadows. “I request the judiciary and State to find some solution for us,” he said. He is not the only one who has his eyes on that slim ray of hope. News of the issuance of the OCs has invigorated the Meadows’s buyers WhatsApp group. “Now, we hope some positive decisions will be in our favour,” posted one buyer at the time of going to press; another replied with a joined hands emoji: “Now it’s our turn.”
OC lucky
Full OCs issued to the following:
Wings A and B of Ekta Everglade Homes
Wings A, C and D of Kalpataru (Kiyana Ventures) project
Partial OC issued to:
Wing B of Kiyana Ventures’ project
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