Noida: Indrani Chaudhuri, along with her brother and his wife’s cousin decided to invest together in the same project thinking that maybe someday, they will have the option of staying in the same apartment complex. But till now, the project that they invested in has not been delivered to any of them.
“I booked a studio apartment in Logix Blossom Zest in 2013. That time, we were settled in Delhi. I remember my elder brother and I went together to Better Option Propmart Pvt Ltd (they were the channel partners for Logix then) to book our home in Logix Zest. Now, we all are fighting together to get possession of that home! In the year 2019, all three of us filed in NCDRC together through the same lawyer! The dream of staying next to each other has converted into a nightmare of fighting endlessly for the home we paid for but never got possession of,” said Indrani.
According to Indrani, they were promised possession in March 2015 (18 months plus 6 months grace period). However, till now, they are struggling to get their home. Buying this house was not just an investment for Indrani and her other family members but a dream to stick together in their old age. Now they are trying enormous ways from legal to Twitter to expose the builder in front of the world. To fight together, Indrani connected with other buyers of Logix who are in the same position as her and formed an association named Blossom Zest Flat Buyers Welfare Association.
Read | Stop selling new flats until you deliver the old, say Logix Zest residents
“Our Association President– Anil Kaushal worked diligently to gather the mobile numbers of Logix Zest homebuyers. He connected us through formation of 10 WhatsApp groups. Ten because each group has a limitation of numbers of homebuyers you can add! Thanks to our core members of the association, we are all connected (despite living in different locations) and stronger now,” said Indrani Chaudhuri.
Through RTI filed by Blossom Zest Flat Buyers Welfare Association, the buyers got to know that Logix has outstanding land dues of 291 crore rupees plus work has been totally stalled in the project as of now.
She further said, “Work stalled in the project before pandemic. Our possession date has been delayed beyond 6 years and yet they are pushing hard to sell unsold units in their phase 1 through their marketing channels 360 realtors plus and Indiabulls in this stalled and sick project. I wrote to the PM grievances portal for help – I was directed to RERA!! Why should I waste my time in RERA where I can see my fellow homebuyers sitting with their judgements for the past 2-3 years! It did not even bother to use its authority to fulfill the collective goal of project completion. Was a forensic audit ever done by RERA for Logix? Are the courts our only hope? Then why do we have RERA for?”
She also added, “Banks are a big culprit too. Banks are supposed to do due diligence in assessing a project's financials before agreeing for a loan. A lot of times, we homebuyers decide on a home based on the bank's willingness to provide the loan. I am wondering how they are claiming that Bank of Maharashtra is providing the loans. If it is providing this loan, then it is helping Logix to lure other HBs to fall into the trap of a stalled project. How will Logix hand over the units it’s selling now when its project has been stalled for so many years (before pandemic) with zero construction, how will the project be completed? How will it enable homebuyers to get registry done without paying the Noida Authority dues?” These are some necessary questions that need to be answered.
Read | Logix Zest: The long lost dream to own the house
Indrani also said that she got two calls from 360 realtors from 2 different persons. One offering to swap her unconstructed studio apartment with a constructed one at a way higher cost.
“I cannot even get the legal electric connection because authority dues are unpaid. Nor does the project has any amenities they promised. Why should I buy this? Another dealer assumed I am a new buyer. He tried to sell me a 2 BHK in phase 1 telling me the project will get completed soon. He even told me that Maharashtra Bank will provide loans. My point is, already about 2,500 homebuyers are suffering, many are paying rent and emi and now Logix wants to trap new buyers,” said Indrani.
For Indrani, making an account on Twitter has only one purpose to serve, that is to raise her voice against the Logix builder. She even quoted saying, “Logix taught me to tweet! Logix ne to adha law bhi sikha diya.”
“I opened my Twitter account only to shout out loud against this injustice done by Logix to us! I opened my Twitter account in May 2021 and by now I already have 4,533 tweets, all devoted to Logix. Eventually, through Twitter, I got connected to other cheated homebuyers of Supertech and other activists in Noida. I realised that the entire real estate sector in Noida is rotting with corruption! There are lakhs in Noida like us. Of course, we all know the reason why Noida tops the country in real estate scams,” said Indrani.
For Indrani and her relatives, it is a dream to stay in a safe gated community with amenities. However, her quest for a new home has turned into nightmare. She feels sad to realise that perhaps she is going to leave the legacy of the court case and fight against Logix for her kids.
On asking the question of how she plans to go further if the scenario doesn’t change, she said, “My blood boils at the thought of being so blatantly openly cheated. So many of us! Can you imagine? It’s now a question of not just the money but what is unjust. Will fight on all fronts – courts, social media, even protests once pandemic subsides. We are being kicked around by all grievance cells. For so long, RERA didn’t utilise its powers to push Logix to complete its project. For example, section 35(1) of RERA enables the regulator to initiate any inquiry and investigate allegations against a Real Estate Developer either suo-moto or on the basis of complaints from consumers. RERA has powers to summon the builder and seek information, even check their books of account! RERA clearly did not utilise its powers under Section 35 to ensure project completion. We know what happened to all judgements for individual penalty – they never got executed!” said Indrani.
