Hyderabad: Five months after Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) officials razed 11 villas illegally built on lake land, one of the owners has approached Cyberabad police with a complaint against the construction firm for cheating. On Wednesday, an FIR was registered against builder G Vijaya Lakshmi.
Lakshmi was arrested a week ago following a tip from one of the affected owners that she was planning to flee the country. Based on a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued by Cyberabad police, she was nabbed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on Jan 30 and later arrested by Dundigal police.
In Nov 2019, the complainant had paid Rs 60 lakh and booked a villa in Mallampet in Dundigal.
“She falsely assured me that all legal approvals were in place and there were no zoning violations. But I later discovered that the villa was illegally constructed in the buffer zone and full tank level (FTL), leading to its demolition by the authorities. This deception caused me significant financial loss and mental distress,” the complainant said in the FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Cyberabad.
He alleged that several other customers also lost money ranging between Rs 65 lakh and Rs 1.32 crore on the project initiated allegedly on the basis of gram panchayat permission. Lakshmi was supposed to construct 250 villas in the layout.
“The builder failed to deliver on contractual agreements. Took full payments but failed to complete construction and the completed villas were of substandard quality. She diverted funds for personal gains. Buyers were assured possession within 15 months, with a compensation clause of Rs 10,000 per month for delays, which she has wilfully refused to honour,” the complainant said.
The complainant alleged that she was involved in cheating, forgery, breach of trust, misrepresentation of facts and intimidation.
Apart from the fresh FIR, there are seven cases already registered against Lakshmi since 2021 in Dundigal.