Illegally \'redeveloped\' building in Vashi not yet demolished

The illegally redeveloped building in sector 9,Vashi is yet to be demolished. It helps to remind our readers that this 12 storied building in sector 9 was constructed on the spot of a CIDCO constructed society which was \’redeveloped\’. The commencement certificated for the building was revoked and a 1 month notice was served to the builder DG Shah. He was found to have submitted forged papers and had not got the required clearances from CIDCO. The CIDCO building was the Ashirwad JN type building. A total of 32 families were living in this complex before demolition. The builder had carried out more than 36-40 sq ft of illegal construction on each floor. The developer has apparently approached the court.

Ulwe villagers demand 20 crores per acre for airport land

A meeting with the villagers of Ulwe on 31 july,2012,ended without a resolution as villagers demanded an astronomical amount of 20 crores per acre or 40% of the surrendered land as compensation. Earlier, CIDCO had acquired most of the Navi Mumbai land from villagers at a rate of 12.5% of the acquired land. The govt had agreed to give them 22% of the land surrendered to CIDCO for the airport but the villagers refused. The villagers have been stalling all land acquisition since last September on this demand. There are 7 villages that are demanding this.
Its worth mentioning that the airport was supposed to be functional by 2015,but going the way they are and withdrawal of the environmental clearance by the forest dept of Maharashtra, its anybody’s guess as to whether the airport will ever see the light of day.

CIDCO to give height approval on behalf of Airport Authority

CIDCO has received provisional approval from AAI (Airports authority of India) to grant height approval for buildings up to a height of 75 meters in Ulwe. As Ulwe lies directly in the flight path of the upcoming airport at Ulwe, prior sanction from the Airports Authority is required before construction. Till now the approval had to be obtained directly from the AAI, which used to cause unnatural delays. On an average, AAI approval used to take 4-6 months, but now will be possible in 20 days. The final approval will be granted by AAI itself. This is the first time that AAI has given the authority to approve the height of a building to another agency.
The height of a building is the lowest closest to the airport runway and goes on increasing upto 20 km from the runway.
75 meters is roughly equal to a 15 storied building.
Therefore,clearances for buildings upto 15 stories will be provided by CIDCO.

Top builders raided for VAT evasion

The sales tax (VAT) dept of Maharashtra has conducted raids on top builders in the past 2 days and found tax evasion to the tune of 20 crores so far.The builders are supposed to collect this sales tax (VAT) from the flat purchasers and deposit it with the govt.The current rate of VAT is 1% on under-construction properties.Ideally,the flat purchaser should take a reciept from the builder for this.The reciept should have a VAT registration number.This is vital to assure that the buyer will not be left defrauded.
In this case it was seen that the builders collected this 1% from the purchasers,but didnt issue any reciept and kept the amount collected from the buyers.20 crores was recovered from the builders which included noted names such as Marathon, Ajmera, Keystone, Bhoomi realty, Naman and Acme,according to some reports.
Flat purchasers should insist on this reciept with the sales tax number.Without it,you can say goodbye to your money.

Related articles

• Value Added Taxes Around the World (turbotax.intuit.com)

Builder fined for frivolous plea

The National consumer forum has fined a builder from Navi Mumbai,Avdhut Construction a sum of Rs 30,000 for filing frivolous petition against the flat purchaser.
The buyer,Joy Konnukudi,will get possession of the flat along with 43,000 as compensation.
The buyer had agreed to buy a flat measuring 399 sq ft in a building for Rs 5 lakh.The buyer alleged that at the time of completion of the agreement,the builder demanded a further Rs.1 lakh in addition to the agreed amount.The builder failed to execute the sale deed.The buyer also learned that the builder had obtained a loan on the flat in the name of another person.
The builder did not attend the hearings on one pretext or the other and finally the consumer court passed an exparte order on aug 8.The builder was ordered to pay 20,400 in interest and 23,000 as compensation for mental harassment.
The builder filed a revision petition in the National Panel in 2010,but the court rejected it.

Related articles

• Builder fined for delaying flat posession (navimumbairealestate.org)
• Fresh trouble for Chavan on tainted Adarsh flat (dailymail.co.uk)
• Builder liable after taking token money (navimumbairealestate.org)