Lodha issue gets messy as builder fails to turn up

Residents staging protest in front of GHMC office were evicted by the police

Reconciliation possibilities between the Lodha Healthy Constructions and Developers and their customers at the Lodha Meridian residential towers, Kukatpally, have hit an impasse after the builder failed to turn up for the hearing held at the GHMC Commissioner’s chambers here on Wednesday.

Besides, residents of the Lodha Meridian protesting against the builder in front of the GHMC office, including women and children, were forcibly evicted by the police and held at Ramgopalpet police station till the hearing was over.

“The police said we didn’t have permission for the protest, and detained a few people near Punjagutta crossroads.

A few others who reached the GHMC office in their own cars were lifted forcibly,” said the spokesperson for the Lodha Meridian Society.

Final decision

Residents of both Lodha Meridian and Lodha Bellezza were present at the hearing, after which the Commissioner B.Janardhan Reddy said he would announce the final decision in a couple of days.

As per the details available, residents of the Lodha Bellezza which was constructed as luxury residential towers in 2012, had approached the High Court objecting to the construction of Lodha Meridian in the same12-acre premises a few years later, as it went against the agreement of privacy.

Later, a compromise was worked out between the builder and the residents, so that a compound wall would separate both the complexes, and a level of parking in Bellezza would be allocated for Lodha Meridian residents.

“Initially, the builder promised that only 554 apartments would be constructed in the three blocks. Later, he increased them to 748 in five blocks, and defaulted in providing parking in the basement as promised. Instead, he offered us leased parking in Bellezza. We complained against it to GHMC,” the spokesperson said. The intervention by GHMC led to more problems, as the officials recommended demolition of the compound wall separating both the towers.

As per the permissions given by the GHMC, both the towers belonged to a single venture by the builder.

Residents upset

However, Lodha Bellezza residents were up in arms against the decision, as they claimed it would infringe their privacy.

The High Court has asked the GHMC to resolve the dispute, applying the building permission rules.