Gurugram: Buyers protest over new tower, M3M says got government approval

GURUGRAM: Residents of M3M Merlin in Sector 67 have launched a unique banner campaign to protest against the developer. Alleging that the developer illegally obtained approval for constructing an extra tower in the society, residents have hung banners from their balconies cautioning prospective home buyers from investing in the project.

The builder, M3M Group, has refuted the claims. “The construction of the 11th tower in M3M Merlin has been announced after all approvals were granted by the authorities. Residents have been attempting to stop the sale of flats in the new towers and are creating groups, which is illegal. M3M has deputed a specialised team to address all residents’ issues, and they are being responded diligently and attended to,” a representative of the builder said.

Residents, meanwhile, alleged that the developer obtained approval from the DTCP illegally without the consent of the existing owners, which is mandatory. “We are objecting because the existing infrastructure is already overburdened and a new tower would only add to the society’s woes,” a resident said.

Residents further alleged that the builder has transferred the entire corpus of interest-free maintenance security and other funds, amounting to several crores, to a facility management company it indirectly controls. They expressed concerns that the money will be diverted or siphoned off.

“Residents are already being charged very high maintenance fees without adequate services. The account audits aren’t shared with residents, and the builder is running the society with a dummy RWA. Now, they have planned construction of tower 11 without the residents’ consent,” said Devender Singh Sethi, a retired bank official and resident.

Another homebuyer, JK Tyagi, who is a retired government official, said the developer doesn’t pay heed to residents’ concerns. “He made false promises while selling the flats. Once sold, he cleverly pulled out. Such an experience is very painful at this advanced age,” he said.

Residents said they are planning to take legal recourse against the builder, as it has failed to resolve encroachments on public property as well, putting their security at grave risk.

“Residents put their hard-earned money into buying a house, but it seems they have been taken for a ride by the developer. The society already suffers from seepage problems and poor maintenance, and the builder doesn’t share expenditure details while charging high maintenance fees at the same time. Now, M3M has launched an extra tower without residents’ consent,” said Veenu Vashishtha, another resident.

District town planner RS Batth said he has not received any complaint in this regard, action will be taken as per the norms if any complaint is given by the residents.