Marath Sreedharan Ramesh is an NRI working in Dubai as a Sales Manager, in a trading company. He’s been out of the country for the last twenty years. Ramesh had booked twin flats at Bengaluru’s Sovereign Unnathi Project for his family, but little did he know that even after almost seven years, his family would still be waiting to move into their new home.
Ramesh’s Voice
I am a (victim) customer of the Sovereign Developers from whom I booked twin flats in their Sovereign Unnathi project, Horamavu, Bengaluru in May 2010. As per the agreement, they promised to deliver the flat by December 2012.
However, they have not just delayed in the completion of the project, but have also demanded additional money.
We are almost 1,600 flat owners from different blocks, and we paid almost 95 percent of the Agreement Value as per the said agreed installments till October 2012.
The cost, according to the agreement, was Rs 16 lakh per flat. Since I had booked twin flats, I had to pay Rs 37 lakh, which includes car parking, merging of two flats, extra electrical points etc.
In December 2012, the builders raised the amount to another 23 lakh, without any reason. The builder univocally came up with a demand notice increasing the price on their own 55 percent of the total agreement value, stating cost increased and with many other unethical points.
I had approached the Consumer Forum in 2013. As per my advocate, NDS Law Partners, they said the verdict had come in my favour. The forum asked the builder to hand over the flats in three months without any hike in the price and also demanded that the builder pay a fine for the delay of Rs 5 per square feet. But the forum also asked me to pay as per the clause no: 1.3 of the agreement (BSWWB/electricity), which I opposed because we needed some clarity in the clause, and also some legal documents of the exact amount that needs to be paid. And it was not just me who had this question. A lot others too pointed this out. So, a few went to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) for some clarity.
Yet, the builder adamantly and strongly did nothing to deliver our flats as per the verdict. The builders even failed to pay the amount to those few owners who had returned their flats.
In 2018, the construction is far from complete. There are no lifts, no power, no water. My flat doesn’t even have floors. This was the state of my flat when I visited it two months ago. The builder is determined not to give us a possession if we don’t agree to his terms (increase in price).
Imagine, how difficult it is for us and for others too. I’m not only paying our monthly rents but also paying the bank EMI. But the builder seems unaffected; even the Consumer Forum verdict didn’t shake him up.
Marath Sreedharan Ramesh’s My Report.
The Quint Finds Out
The Quint received at least five complaints against SDIL for their Sovereign Unnathi project at Horamavu. Whatever information we gathered from various question and answer sites about the builder were mostly negative. Their official website www.sdil.in seems to be inactive. There are no details found on the founders and current directors, Prakaash Kumar Singh and Deepakk Kumar.
In Response To Ramesh’s Mail
The Quint contacted Sovereign Developers and Infrastructure Ltd. (SDIL), but the emails sent to their official accounts bounced back.
We also tried reaching out to them through phone numbers listed on various documents and official portals, but none of these numbers were reachable. This story will be updated with their response.
(Disclaimer: The claims, statements and views expressed in this article are solely of the citizen(s) who have written to us. The Quint does not endorse these claims, statements and views, and is not responsible for the same. ‘My Report’ is The Quint’s platform of Citizen Journalism. Share your queries or grievances with us at myreport@thequint.com)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)