Creative desi crook

MulaiAzhagi wrote:On 22 February, the builder’s immortality was tainted by an order of the Bombay High Court. Hiranandani may now be remembered as a builder who was supposed to construct affordable housing in Powai for ‘weaker sections of society’, but who put up ‘palatial constructions’ for the rich in violation of an agreement with the Maharashtra government and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

In 1986, Hiranandani was given 230 acres there to build affordable flats of 400 and 800 sq ft. Such were the terms of the tripartite agreement between Hiranandani, the state government and MMRDA. The builder did construct flats of those sizes—but then let buyers buy multiple conjoined flats, tear down a few dividing walls, and turn them into larger flats that only the rich could afford.

Says the recent court order, pronounced by Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi: ‘The developer has claimed that [family] members… of several flat purchasers booked and registered agreements for more than one unit and claimed to [have] amalgamated them. These were one too many. They incidentally booked adjacent units. They claimed to [have] demolished the walls separating the units. They claimed to have larger units. These were members of one family. They were generally husband and wife, father and son, or father and daughter. From time to time, the developer has made requests to the MMRDA for allowing [such] amalgamation. This appears to be endemic. The developer appears to have had clients and customers who largely needed only large flats. The very purpose of the tripartite agreement was to construct smaller flats for affordable housing. The developer as well as flat purchasers appear to have [ignored] this essential requirement.’

Seventy buildings have been built by Hiranandani in Powai, according to the court order, and instead of following his mandate, he constructed ‘palatial units of art-deco architecture. There is no mention of small units of 40 sq m or even 80 sq m offered to [buyers] as affordable housing. Consequently, the land which was leased on a pittance of Re 1 per hectare, came to be developed as a goldmine, [resulting in the realisation] from such an investment millions of rupees worth of real estate.’

http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/when-a-lie-scrapes-the-sky