Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 29: A decade-long wait for a home has left Shakir Shah and wife Fatema in anguish as the four flats allotted to them in a Mazgaon redevelopment project remain out of reach—despite construction finishing over a year ago.

The couple’s original Mhada building, Motiwala and Jani, went for redevelopment in 2014. After two developers quit, Shaad Realty completed the project, Shaad Residency, but allegedly failed to pay transit rent or hand over the flats worth nearly Rs 7 crore. Instead, the builder allegedly created third-party rights by selling or leasing the units without Mhada’s consent.

“Despite owning four flats, I have no home of my own. We are paying rent while the builder escapes responsibility,” Fatema lamented.

Records show Shaad Realty was required to pay transit rent and rehabilitate tenants. On April 26 this year, the Mumbai Building Repair and Reconstruction Board ordered the developer to register permanent rehabilitation agreements, clear pending rents, and hand over the flats by May 9. The order was ignored, leaving many tenants still in unsafe conditions.

Following repeated complaints, Mhada directed deputy engineer Prahlad Walhuba Dhagude to file a police case. Byculla police registered an FIR on May 16 against Shaad Realty and director Shadab Islam Qureshi for cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery.

Qureshi has obtained anticipatory bail, and police say a chargesheet will follow pending agency reports.

While AH Construction and Gazdar Developers, the previous developers, denied responsibility, Qureshi declined comment, citing the matter as sub judice.