Multi-crore projects bite dust as city builders run for cover

MUMBAI, May 18: The underworld's penchant for builders has left the families of these developers an unwanted legacy, with unfinished project...

MUMBAI, May 18: The underworld8217;s penchant for builders has left the families of these developers an unwanted legacy, with unfinished projects worth crores of rupees grounded over the last two years.

Both business associates and the families of the deceased are reluctant to complete the projects for fear of being targeted themselves, leaving clients who had invested in them in the lurch as well.

The murder of builder Manish Shah by the Arun Gawli gang on February 5 has stalled projects worth Rs 200 crore, with land he bought at Walkeshwar-Cumballa Hill continuing to lie vacant three months after his death.

A police officer investigating Shah8217;s murder says petrified family members are loathe to taking charge of the business, especially as Shah was killed for refusing to pay extortion money.

Vallabhbhai Thakkar8217;s case is no different. Also gunned down by the Gawli gang, on April 17 last year despite coughing up more than Rs 75 lakh as protection money to Sada Pawle, he has left a major project atPrabhadevi incomplete.

Internal work on the Rs 250-crore, four-building Chaitanya Complex near Century Bazar was poised to begin when Thakkar fell to the underworld8217;s bullets and the status quo hasn8217;t changed since.

Builder Dilip Valecha was gunned down at his Malabar Hill residence by the Chhota Shakeel gang in 1996. His 12-acre project at Mira Road and another at Pokhan in Thane district are yet to take off. The estimated cost: over Rs 400 crore.

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Om Prakash Kukreja took the fall for his leanings towards the Chhota Rajan gang. Killed by Dawood Ibrahim8217;s hitmen in 1996, Kukreja has left behind a major project at Juhu-Versova incomplete.

A police officer investigating the Kukreja murder said work at various sites in Navi Mumbai is only just revving up after Kukreja8217;s brother Mohan took charge.

Another casualty was builder Praveen Jain, who was killed by the Abu Salem faction of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.

Natwarlal Desai, however, has not been missed. Shot dead on August 18, 1997, by the Gawli gang,the builder8217;s projects have rolled on despite his absence. The underworld routinely collects about Rs 300 crore each month via its various outfits from builders, with the Gawli gang alone receiving a hefty Rs 30 crore from this quarter.

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Convenor of the Federation of Accommodation Industry of India, K V Satyamurthy says the unfinished projects will, in all probability, lie dormant for several years unless business associates and family members of the deceased builders are prodded into action by clients who have invested in them. He added that clients could even move court as a last resort to reclaim their investments.