Residents of Parsvnath Majestic Floors, a society in Indirapuram, are worried the absence of a proper resident body for the past two years will disrupt the society's maintenance and social activity. The 377-household society has not had a proper resident body since 2014.
Speaking to City Spidey, residents said the absence of a resident association caused several serious issues to remain unaddressed. According to them, the buildings were facing severe seepage issues which required immediate attention but nothing was being done as their was no body to take the lead and get things done. Apart from this, the society also has a defunct swimming pool, damaged electrical cables, sewer choke and myriad other issues about which nothing is being done.
In 2014, the society's RWA adopted the UP Apartments Act, 2010, to form an AOA. In March 2015, the RWA members proceeded to form an election committee of five members, headed by Colonel YP Singh. Under the UP APartments Act, 2010, the formation of the committee can only be done once the society's bye-laws are approved by the Deputy Registrar.
In August 2015, the RWA members sent their bye-laws to the Deputy Registrar, Meerut, for approval, only after forming the election committee. The deputy registrar, however, rejected the bye-laws set by the association and ordered them to revert to the original bye-laws formed by the state, which meant the committee was null and void.
The formation of the committee was followed by a disagreement among committee members. The confusion ensued when members were split into two groups over whether Rajat Sharma, a resident who had filed a nomination for the election was a valid candidate. According to Sharma, although his flat was registered in his mother's name (Sumitra Sharma) he was a valid candidate as she had issued the power of attorney to him. While some committee members agreed with Sharma, others thought he could not file a nomination as he wasn't the original flat owner.
The disagreement ended with two of the five committee members residning. The rest of the committee went ahead with the election with Rajat Sharma and his team of 10 members winning the AOA elections unopposed.
Dissatisfied with the elections, members of the previous RWA, headed by president Deepak Sharma, approached the Deputy Registrar, Meerut, to intervene in the issue. In September 2015, the Deputy Registrar appointed the SDM of Ghaziabad to resolve the issue. Shailendra Kumar Singh, the SDM, after looking into the issue, declared the new team legitimate. The SDM in January 2016 passed the order on the grounds that the previous body had not adopted the bye-laws set by the state, as ordered by the Deputy Registrar.
However, Deepak Sharma, the president of the previous residents body, in February 2016 filed a case at Allahabad High Court, challenging the SDM's decision. The high court ordered an interim stay against the SDM's order. Since then, the case has been listed several times but is yet to be heard.
The rift has also disrupted the social environment in the society. A female resident of the society, on condition of anonymity, told City Spidey that the society had not celebrated any social event since a year. "We no longer conduct welfare camps and the difference has divided us to the extent that we hoist two separate flags on Republic Day and Independent Day," she added.
Speaking to City Spidey, Amit Gupta, general secretary of the previous RWA, maintained that Rajat Sharma had illegally participated in the election since he did not own a flat in the society. He also deemed SDM's order wrongful. "I am ready to conduct fresh elections as long as no one from the existing team participates in it and I have the same appeal to the court," he added.
"It was the intent of the previous president to stall the formation of a proper AOA body and create unnecessary trouble," said Rajat Sharma. "My participation in the election was not illegal according to Section 3(d) of a judgement of the Allahabad High Court (Writ Petition No.33826 of 2012), according to which spouse and children of the apartment owner have same rights as the owner."
The society's case has been listed for hearing on December 19. For the sake of the society and its residents, let's hope Majestic Floors can finally have a functioning resident-body.
