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Mumbai: The Maharera Show cause notice has been issued to Lokhandwala Kataria ConstructionRs 2,000 crore promoter Minerva Real Estate Project But mahalakshmiIt asked why the project’s registration should not be canceled for violation of conditions, including an advertisement claiming that it would be a 90-storey project and the tallest residential tower in India when the promoter has permission to build only up to 77 floors.
As reported by Prafulla Marpakwar, the project is being promoted as Shapoorji Pallonji Mahalaxmi Minerva. A senior MahaRERA official said that the first notice was given on May 11. After this, another notice was given on 15 May. When the promoters did not respond satisfactorily, the agency decided to invoke the provisions of Section 7 of the MahaRERA Act, which empowers the authority to cancel the registration and take punitive action.
Cost mismatch between RERA charges and shortfall in deposits
MahaRERA, headed by veteran bureaucrat Ajoy Mehta, has issued two notices to Lokhandwala Kataria Construction for violation of conditions regarding the Minerva project in Mahalaxmi, including its claim that it will be a 90-storey tower despite permission to build only 77 floors. The notices were issued a week ago under the authority of Chief Advisor, MahaRERA, Sanjay Deshmukh. The promoters have been asked to respond before August 28.
When TOI contacted Mohd Abdul Hussain Lokhandwala and Ali Asghar Mohd Lokhandwala of Lokhandwala Kataria Construction, they did not respond and the former said, “I have nothing to do with real estate or MahaRERA.”
A MahaRERA official said, “We have issued show cause notices for non-submission of documents, maintaining multiple bank accounts for the Minerva project and uncertainty in timely completion of the project. We are considering the security of the home buyers to get their premises within the time frame proposed in the application submitted during the registration of the project.
The official said that “more shocking” was the claim made in the advertisement of 90 floors and that the project would be “India’s tallest residential tower”.
“As per the commencement certificate uploaded on the website, permission has been granted for up to 77 floors,” the official said. The official said the promoter replied to the show cause notice dated May 11, 2023, seeking 30 days time to comply with the demand and provide a detailed explanation. However, till date, no further reply has been submitted. “Due to your conduct of non-compliance with the demand and non-furnishing of explanation, MahaRERA has no option but to invoke section 7 of the Act,” Deshmukh said in his notice.
Other key allegations against the promoters include non-submission of forms, delay in construction status, shortfall in amount deposited (Rs 114.5 crore), shortfall in amount to be deposited in specified account (Rs 26.2 crore), “mismatch in cost with respect to percentage of completion of the project”, and mismatch in estimated and actual development cost observed by the project engineer.
“The (preliminary) reply of the promoter is silent on (all these) important issues,” the official said. MahaRERA is the real estate regulatory authority in Maharashtra. Its key responsibilities include ensuring that real estate projects are disclosed by developers, project improvements and redressal of grievances. The authority also makes recommendations to the government on matters relating to the development and promotion of the real estate sector.
