Cameraperson: Abhishek Ranjan
Camera Assistant: Muskan Singh
Video Editor: Prashant Chauhan
The Amrapali Zodiac society, located in Noida’s sector 120, looks like yet another high-rise that came into existence a decade ago from a distance away.
Except that the sprawling campus is home to buyers who never got a fully built flat despite paying almost 90 percent of the property’s worth.
Akhilesh Verma, an IT professional, did the unthinkable in June 2019. After booking a flat in Amrapali Zodiac’s tower A, Akhilesh waited for eight years, hoping that construction work will be over soon.
But when the builder dithered on his promise, Akhilesh decided to move in with his family, in a move that might be considered as ‘forced entry’.
“I did not have any other option,” says Akhilesh as he shows the video of the ‘grih pravesh’ puja (home coming) in his laptop.
Akhilesh is among 42,000 home buyers who have approached the Supreme Court after the real estate company, Amrapali, defaulted on handing over flats on time.
Even as the court is hearing the matter and trying to figure out how to wrap up pending projects of Amrapali, buyers like Akhilesh are hoping to get due compensation for the delay.
“Mentally, I was in a state of depression. If the date of possession is considered as December 2012, then from January 2013 at the rate of Rs 10 per square feet, with an area of 1325 square feet, it comes to Rs 13,250 per month, compensation worth Rs 10,33,000 is due.”Akhilesh Verma
The Quint has sent a mail to lawyer Gaurav Bhatia who is representing the Amrapali group in the Supreme Court. We will update the story with their response as and when we get it.
Having spent thousands from his own pocket to get electric wires and water connection in his new flat, Akhilesh’s worries are far from over.
As he stares at the unplastered floor in one of the rooms, his wife Reena is concerned about the rusted iron grill surrounding their balcony with two kids in the house.
Akhilesh and Reena are not the only ones who decided to move into an incomplete flat at Amrapali Zodiac.
Several have spent money from their own pockets as they were finding it difficult to pay monthly EMIs as well as rents.
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