Mumbai News: Woman Receives Possession Of Redeveloped Flat After Long Fight

Satya Shetty, a widow in her late 50s, had lived in her MHADA flat for many years and the apartment held memories of her late husband, besides countless moments that had defined her life. In 1995, the society wherein she lived in Shell Colony, Chembur, decided to go for redevelopment after taking due permission from MHADA, Shetty and other residents vacated their flats, hoping to get a better home in a few years.

Years passed, and while her neighbours moved into their new flats, Shetty, who had shifted to Udupi, was left waiting. The redevelopment was complete, and keys were handed over to everyone but her. Confused and disheartened, she visited the MHADA office repeatedly and each time she was met with vague assurances and bureaucratic red tape.

“The best part is the residents shifted to the redeveloped flats after receiving only the fit-out certificate, which is not an OC and it is illegal to live in any house that doesn’t have an OC,” an activist who helped Shetty in the battle, said not wishing to be named.

Determined to reclaim her home, Shetty began her fight and filed a complaint with the consumer court. Financially strained and emotionally exhausted, she didn't give up since the developer had promised to pay her rent and also the corpus, but failed to do so. However, a social activist, who is also an expert in criminal matters, with the help of other residents helped Shetty in her fight to see to it that the case comes to a logical conclusion.

Accordingly, the activist filed a case under section 156 (3) of CrPC besides complaints under section 154 CrPC with the Bandra court and awaiting judgement, while no action was initiated by the local DCP with whom a case was filed under section 154 of CrPC. It was on last Sunday that the residents and other activists went live on a social media platform regarding the case of another resident, and the video clip became viral on the social media. On seeing the video, the officials woke up from the slumber and took cognizance of the complaint. She was called at the MHADA office along with the residents, but was kept waiting for close to three years.

After going through mental agony for years, Shetty finally received the keys of her apartment along with the maintenance charges of Rs 60,000 besides stamp duty charges of Rs 1,15,000 which was fraudulently deducted from by the developer. She was personally handed over the keys and the cheque along with other documents by the Vice President and CEO of MHADA, Subodh Jaiswal on Friday, June 14, 2024.

“We had decided to go live on social media on Sunday, June 16 to highlight Shetty’s case, but MHADA officials seemed to have taken a backfoot following last Sunday’s viral video and handed over the keys, money and documents to Shetty before that. It was because of the team work and never-say-die attitude of Shetty that she received the possession of her flat. She fought tooth and nail to see to it that justice is done and MHADA officials succumb to the people’s pressure. We thank all our members for their unwavering support in our fight for justice,” the activist added.