Gurugram: Malibu Towne residents protest against hike in upkeep charges

GURUGRAM: Around 150 people, including women and senior citizens, living in Sector 47’s Malibu Towne protested on Saturday against the township developer’s decision to increase maintenance charges from Rs 5 per square yard to Rs 6.50 per square yard.

According to the residents, about a month ago the developer issued a notice regarding the hike in maintenance charges, and stated that it will be levied from April 1.

The residents have complained about the poor quality of existing services at the township to the developer and also alleged that in a recent meeting the builder refused to address their grievances. Some of the grievances pointed out by the residents are poor quality of internal roads, lack of a sub-station , a non-operational club and lack of community centre. They also want the transfer of colony from the developer to the MCG to happen expeditiously.

Niranjan Yadav, chairman of Malibu Federation said, “There are several deficiencies in the township and all the development and maintenance work has literally come to a standstill. If no action is taken, then we will intensify our agitation and stage a dharna at the promoter’s residence in Delhi.”

Around 2,500 families live here.

Vijay Shiv Nath, president of Malibu Floors said, “In a township spread across 200 acres, there is no community centre. Similarly, the club was sealed by the fire department last year, and since then the residents have not had a space for any recreational activities. The maintenance charges should be collected only for non-mandatory services..”

Meanwhile, Gopal Kapoor, vice-president for maintenance (Malibu Towne), said that an amount of Rs 8 crore is pending from the end of the residents. “Many people have not paid a single penny for the last 5 to 10 years, and that is the reason for the delay in some development projects. However, we have been carrying out road repairs from time to time and the construction of boundary wall and beautification work is underway. Regarding the club, we have spoken to the officials in Chandigarh and are hoping that it will be de-sealed soon. The work on building of the substation had started earlier, but it was stopped on the complaint of some residents. We have started the process again and if the residents don’t object to it, the substation will be ready within 4 to 6 months,” Kapoor said.