The builder has put the proposed 16 per cent hike in the maintenance charges on hold till September 15, and asked the AOA to take handover by the end of the month.
In a relief for the residents of Prateek Wisteria, a high-rise society in Sector 77, Noida, Prateek Group (the builder) has decided to put the proposed 16 per cent hike in the maintenance charges on hold till September 15, and has also asked the AOA of the society to take the handover by September 30.
Nisha Rai, General Secretary of AOA, Prateek Wisteria, told City Spidey that the matter was discussed with the officials of the builder and the residents have also received an email stating that the hike has been put on hold till September 15 and the AOA can proceed for the handover.
She further added that the handover process can only be completed once the builder completes the pending tasks at the complex, such as repairing the seepage and chunks of plaster falling at the towers, increasing the number of transformers installed and purchasing a generator for the power backup.
“All these points would be further discussed with our senior citizens group and residents, and then only we can arrive at a solution with the builder,” Rai added.
On Sunday, the residents had staged a protest against the proposed hike in the maintenance charges and even requested the residents to not buy anything from the builder's general store located inside the society.
According to the residents, the builder had informed them about the hike through a circular released just three days back, increasing the maintenance charges from Rs 2.35 per sqft plus GST to Rs 2.75 per sqft plus GST.
Speaking to City Spidey, Chakresh Jain, a resident of Prateek Wisteria, said that they had received possession of their flats in 2014 and a couple of years after that the AOA was formed and registered in 2016. “Our maintenance agreement has expired with the builder but we still haven’t been given the control of prepaid meters and its software admin keys.”
Jain further added that the builder is illegally and forcibly collecting money from the flat owners on a daily basis from the deposits made to the prepaid meter. “The monthly bills should be submitted to the AOA for the payments of all services rendered and electricity consumed.”
“The maintenance and electricity bills should first be given to the AOA so that they can make payments directly. The AOA should have the control of prepaid meters. Not giving them the control is criminal and amounts to embezzlement and misappropriation of flat owners’ money,” said another resident.
Neeraj Vermani, another resident, said that the builder on Monday has asked the residents and AOA to finalise the memorandum of transfer (MoT) of the society before September 15. “Meanwhile, we have asked the builder to increase the number of DG sets installed by two and complete all the pending work in the society.”
“The builder also needs to return our IFMS amount of approximately Rs 10 crore along with the interest of Rs 3 crore,” said Jain.
An official of Prateek Group said that the company is ready to give the handover to the society. “We have given the AOA and the residents time to take the handover by September 15, failing which they will have to pay the increased maintenance charges.”
