Another building plan 'violation' comes to fore in RT Nagar

After the High Court had pulled up the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike for ‘condoning’ building plan violations in RT Nagar, another instance of alleged deviation in the same area has come to light.

Victory Harmony, a private building located on Sumangali Sevashrama Road, obtained approval for the building plan for 99 apartments in 2007. The Palike permitted construction in three blocks up to three floors.

The residents of two such blocks, however, allege that the builder constructed flats on the fourth floor, too, and sold them at a lower price to people who owned flats in the same complex. According to the residents, the builder has constructed two additional ‘illegal’ apartments.

“We noticed the illegal construction in June 2010. We repeatedly approached the builder to ensure that the illegal construction is stopped at the initial stage, but to no avail,” said Shiva Kumar, a resident of Victory Harmony Apartments. The residents claimed that the two ‘illegal’ apartments were sold to two persons who already owned a flat each in the building at a price less than the prevailing market rate.

“The sale deeds of 2010 suggest that the owner of flat A-305, R Jaikumar, purchased it for Rs 40.39 lakh. The ‘illegal’ flat on the fourth floor, A-404, was, however, sold for Rs 18 lakh despite the house being of a larger dimension,” claimed Shiva Kumar. As per the sale deeds, the ‘illegal’ construction measures 1836.55 sqft, while the flat legally purchased by Jaikumar measures 1,145 sq ft. The sale deeds of the other ‘illegal’ flats too show that they were sold for less than the market rate. With his pleas going unheard, Kumar got a notice issued to the builder and the apartment owners, but no action was initiated against them.