Raheja Developers

History

Raheja Developers Limited was incorporated by Navin Raheja in 1990. The business has worked with contractors such as Aedas, Callison, Lessard, Meinhardt, WSP, Shapoorji-Pallonji, and L&T. Two of its joint-development projects were in collaboration with Tata Group. It also collaborated with Dubai-based Arabtec Construction.

In 2008, Raheja Developers planned to build a Special Enterprise Zone (SEZ) in Gurgaon at an estimated cost of $660M US. The development was to be on a 255-acre (103 ha) site but the project did not advance. The Government of India announced denotification of the SEZ project on 29 January 2014; the entire project was scrapped.

Raheja launched a project in Sohna in January 2015 under the affordable housing policy of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA).

Tax affairs

Raheja Developers were named in a sting operation relating to corruption by investigative portal Cobrapost. Based on this, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, ordered a probe into Raheja and 34 other developers. Raheja Developers Ltd were also target of a tax raid by Indian Income Tax authorities in February 2010; tax evasion amounting to ₹80 crore (US$12 million) was unearthed at that time.

Kathputli Colony

In 2009 Raheja won a contract from Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to improve the slums at Kathputli Colony in Shadipur, where the company would build 2,800 flats for the poor people of the area and in return receive 10 per cent of the land for commercial use. However the project could not be started due to the refusal of slum-dwellers to move out to allow re-development. This policy failure was acknowledged by the DDA. In 2014, an election candidate of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the contract was a scam created by the DDA and the company. Out of the 5.22 hectares i.e., 52,000 sq m of land, 60 per cent (31,200 sq m) was marked for the rehabilitation of the colony, and the rest was given to Raheja Developers. AAP further alleged that the contract was a way to give the company prime real estate at a low cost under the guise of assisting the slum dwellers, who state that they were forcibly evicted from their homes.

Raheja Atharva, Gurgaon

In 2014, the Prime Minister of India's Office ordered a probe relating to alleged irregularities in a Gurgaon housing project named Raheja Atharva. Raheja Developers were quoted as blaming HUDA for the delay over construction of infrastructure like road connectivity, water and sewerage. On 16 December 2015, on basis of complaint by the Atharva Owners Welfare Association, an inspection was carried out by G. R. Goyat, Chairman of the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee, and 0.8 acres of the Atharva project was sealed as it was illegally constructed without any Environmental Clearances. Further, the news report states that instead of 520 apartments for which permission had been obtained, around 700 apartments had been constructed without obtaining the Environmental Clearance. And, instead of the 30 per cent of green space indicated by the approved plan, the builder had left only around 15 per cent.

43 buyers of properties in the Atharva project filed a lawsuit against Raheja Developers with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). Following this filing on 22 July 2014, an additional 24 cases involving over 750 buyers have been filed by home buyers of Raheja Vedanta, Raheja Navodaya, Raheja Atlantis and additional buyers in Raheja Atharva at the NCDRC as of 3 January 2016, with Raheja being the respondent.

On 7 October 2015 a public notice was issued, and published on 22 October 2015 in the Hindustan Times, regarding complaint of Raheja Vedaanta buyers against Raheja Developers Ltd at the NCDRC. The notice informed all other buyers, who were not yet part of the Vedanta case against Raheja Developers to join the 110 buyers who are part of the 2015 case before NCDRC.

On 15 June 2015 an investigation was ordered into the Raheja residential project called Shilas (the name of some towers in the Raheja Atharva complex) by HUDA, after an inspection revealed that the fire safety systems in the 700-apartment complex were non-functional.

An episode of Truth vs Hype by award-winning anchor Sreenivasan Jain broadcast on 13 February 2016 on NDTV described some issues being faced by buyers in Raheja Developer projects. (Video segment at 10:41 minutes into the program.) Buyers in Atharva and Vedaanta pointed out that the projects did not have valid fire safety clearances in the projects. During a recent fire in the Atharva complex, the fire department was not notified, and neither were the fire tenders called, for fear of violations being detected. The buyers also pointed out that there were towers which were built in violation of the fire safety codes, and there was no setback roads around them, and fire tenders could not reach those towers at all. It was also pointed out that though Environment Clearances had lapsed in the projects, the projects had illegally obtained Occupancy Certificates.

The buyers in Atharva project further alleged that the builder had showed them large green areas in 2007, and plans to build only 440 apartments, but the builder did not honour that promise. In an area that was designated as a green park, the builder had constructed a series of high rise towers called Shilas, taking the total number of apartments to 700. To meet the statutory requirements of green areas, the builder had overnight covered tennis courts with grass, and had installed plastic grass in other areas. The buyers also alleged demands for exorbitant additional costs: Raheja wanted to charge them Rs 2,4 million more than the agreed Rs 7.2 million price, even though the project was not complete in 2016, five years after its planned delivery date. The buyers also alleged that their "super area" had increased, collectively for the complex by over 50,000 sq. ft., and the builder was charging them for this without being able to explain the cause of the increase.

Navin Raheja appeared on the programme and objected to all of the allegations made by buyers. He claimed that though he had completed the project, the buyers were unwilling to take possession of the apartments as their monthly maintenance charges would start immediately. He also claimed that the buyers had misrepresented the situation about the Environment Clearances, Fire Clearances, Occupation Certificate, and the lack of statutory green areas.

Forbes allegation

Forbes India alleged in 2015 that Raheja Developers indulged in strategic lawsuit against public participation to stifle criticism of its business practices.

Raheja Production

Raheja Production is a film production house developed by Raheja; it produces nature documentaries as part of the corporate social responsibility activities of his company.

Awards