KWIC buyers welfare body seeks CM's intervention over unfinished project

Kolkata: Kolkata West International City Buyers Welfare Association has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking her intervention, as the project which started 12 years ago, is far from seeing its end. The project is developed by Prasoon Mukherjee of Universal Success Enterprise (USE).

The buyers wrote that they have paid 80 percent to 100 percent for their row houses or flats and alleged that if work is carried out at the current pace, the builder will take another 4 to 5 years to complete it.

The project was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in 2006. The erstwhile state government had given 390 acres of land to USE. The first phase, comprising row houses on 80 acres of land, was launched in 2006 under the banner of Kolkata West International City (KWIC).

The buyers alleged that during their visit to the site on February 22, it was found that the construction of approximately 400 row houses in clusters C and D which amounts to only 30 percent, had been nearing completion. In cluster C, most of the row houses do not have roads in front of them while in cluster D, none of the row houses have roads. The buyers alleged that KWIC is forcing the buyers to take unfinished houses, failing which they have to pay Rs 6 per square feet as holding charges every month.

The buyers alleged that Prasoon Mukherjee has 200 acres of land under his disposal and has leased out 30 acres of land to Shapoorji Pallonji, to set up a housing complex which is coming up next to KWIC.

The buyers rued that they are paying interest to the banks on the loans they had taken for their houses or flats, whereas the firm could not assure when the houses will be handed over to them. They also demanded an inquiry against Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), for issuing completion certificates (CC) of the unfinished project.