Apartment Stories

Mr.Murthy, his wife Kalabali and his only daughter Kiran return back to their own motherland India from America. They did not feel like to settle in abroad, though his kith and kin had settled down in America. Kalabali wanted to teach all good virtues, the value of morality to Kiran. So, Kiran can understand the value, significance of Indian life. Some virtues like socialization, love, affection, regard for elders, obedience, selfless help can be learned staying in India only. They preferred to buy their flat in Visakhapatnam. At last, they fulfilled their ambition making their own homes in their motherland in their own country India. They feel proud of coming back to their own place taking the correct decision. Otherwise, they could not have excused them forever. Some months passed away smoothly, peacefully as the flat owners could use collective corpus money and natural resources properly. They could manage everything as all the new equipment did not require maintenance so soon. Slowly, slowly the natural resources like bore well water, electricity started reducing in their beautiful apartment. Day to day demand of the residents suddenly increased the luxurious needs of the residents being converted to essential needs. Now the corpus money which is their saving too.

The real problems of the apartment started after some years passed away. Flat owners are impressed and attracted seeing the outer beauty of the flats only. The glossy marble flooring designed, decorative wall, cub boards of the rooms, fascinated the residents very much in the beginning. Gradually people started facing numerous problems. Problems also varied floor wise and flatwise like, top floor people used to face continuous lift problems whereas, down floor people face continuous garbage problem. Top floor people used to throw garbage down. Due to the acute labor problem, sweepers used to dump garbage down in the garbage chute. Therefore, down floor people suffered a lot. Even they refused to pay a high amount of maintenance charges for lift purposes as they did not require lifts.

The main problem of an apartment is water. Even the logic behind the equal distribution of water is not related to an equal number of family members. Even the logic behind the equal uses or consumption of water is not calculated among all flat occupants equally. Joint families use more water than nucleus families. The use of electricity consumption for the lifting of water from the sump to the overhead tank was more expensive than the cost of water per tanker itself.

Maintenance of the building’s body such as pipelines, cellars, terrace, drainage pipelines sumps, motors, generators, all came under the category of both regular and periodic expenses. Otherwise, they will get spoilt.

Nowadays apartments are being constructed more and more in number. People or residents or families or citizens, whatever they are called stay together in apartments sharing each other’s common facilities. They need to live in co-operation giving more importance to the essential needs of the apartment rather than luxurious needs. In fact, residents are governed by certain rules and regulations. Rights and duties are co-related. Democracy prevails both in a democratic country and in a residential welfare society. A law of human relationship prevails. That is, ‘society is made by the people, of the people, and for the people’. Residential associations are formed to rule as well as serve the society. Those are called legally registered bodies. But the crises begin when some residents desire to fulfill their luxurious needs staying in an apartment only. As they find it very easy and comfortable way to fulfil their luxurious demand like twenty four hour water supply, in house generator connection, lift facilities, etc.

Some residents, who used to stay on rent were not taking interest in overall development of the apartment. They were least bothered about the building’s activities and welfare works. They preferred to be the representatives of flat owners only. Some owners staying in foreign countries used to keep some housekeepers in their flats, paying high maintenance charges to the owners association for their housekeepers, who enjoy all facilities of the building, are not bothered about the future of the building whether it will remain or be collapsed.

Some residents rapidly change the infrastructure of their flats by remodeling, renovating their flats both inside and outside, doing major repairmen work which could damage the wall of the building easily creating breakage on the wall but, without taking prior permission of the association. Flat owners like to convert their flats into hostels, mess, schools. So that, they can pay the high demand of maintenance charges. As security was not so alert of so many things so, flat owners used to follow many illegal businesses like gambling, prostitution and so many other illegal works without taking the permission of the association. Everything was taken for granted. Any outsider could easily access through the main gate into the building. No security was maintained to give security to the house owners. No registered book was maintained writing the names of outsiders.

Not only in Visakhapatnam but also, in various metro cities, the management of apartments by the associations was in very bad conditions. As usual public was not alert of so many things. The executive members were making arbitrary rules without taking a majority vote in a democratic way. Even if they followed the democratic concept of making laws but they were not executing the laws in a proper democratic way also. As the association was taking care of the building or colony so the police department was not ready to give security to the respective buildings. The bye-laws are made by the residents, were not executed properly. Though the bye-laws were approved by the magistrate under the association act 1960 but, residents were not aware of such a thing. Executive members or office bearers were not ready to execute the bye-laws.                                                                                                                       

They were not ready to amend the laws also. Mr. Moorthy came to know the truth that, the same problem was being faced by the residents of other places like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Calcutta, and Delhi. His friends Balakrishnan, Biswanthan, and Srinivasan had been fighting for the same problem in Bangalore during that time. They protested against such existing maintenance problems of the apartments in the national games village, Koramangala.

Previously Karnataka housing board was looking after the maintenance of all flats, each block consists of more than two hundred flats like this more than twelve blocks consisting of three thousand flats were in the locality. More than four thousand people were staying over there which came under the jurisdiction of Bangalore, Mahanagar Palika. Then slowly, slowly Karnataka housing board handed over the ruling power to all the residential well fare associations of various blocks. Welfare societies or associations were executing their own bye-laws, following the association's bye-laws act, which had been approved by the magistrate. All welfare associations of N.G.V comes under the jurisdiction of Karnataka apartments ownership act 1975 and 1972. According to the act, certain rules are mandatory being based on democratic principles like, [1- election, 2-- presentation of annual budget in general body meeting which exceeds more than six lakhs, submission of financial/audited reports for approval in A.G.M. 3--Office bearers must take the approval of expenditure more than fifty thousand.] Various banks and central government have taken possession over their own property which is maintained by the owners association.                                   

The question aroused whether K.H.B was still carrying the controlling authority over N.G.V colony or not. Has Karnataka housing board transferred its power to all the blocks of the National games village or not? If the associations are registered body then, they must exercise certain power over the blocks. If any flat owner or bank quarter or government quarter goes through major repair work like renovating the flat, must take the permission of associations. Some repairment work like renovation on the joint balcony and common terrace may cause damage to the building. If it causes damage and financial loss to the building, that flat owner must be declared as a defaulter. In such a case, what legal remedy the owner's association should take? Can the association use its power suiting or lodging a case in consumer court or in consumer dispute Redressal forum giving a complaint against the flat owner? The same thing can happen as vice verse with the association if, association violates the democratic rules and regulations.                         

If associations are valid and registered body in national games village then, they must execute certain rules. All the associations together can form a very strong, powerful, federation representing a few members from each block as well as from each field who can get the legal disputes solved and other development work done quickly for the residents of the national games village. Some of the efficient development work like construction of a boundary wall around the N.G.V colony can be done properly. instead of going through K.H.B the associations can directly pay money to BWSS.B. The individual resident is supposed to pay Rs. 450 to K.H.B every month for the supply of Cauvery water and other common facilities like maintenance of the park, road, security, street lights, etc.                                                       

The NGV colony itself has been declared as an individual ward more than 9000 people are staying over here. So the common facilities of the area maintenance come under the jurisdiction of Karnataka urban development authority and Bangalore Mahanagar Palika. Regarding the park maintenance, it is a public park now. It is the duty of' 'Karnataka urban development authority and the Bangalore municipal corporation' to look after the common area maintenance of national games village, why should residents separately pay for that? All these things can be settled down through mutual discussion by forming a strong and active federation taking representatives from various fields like banks, government offices and the owners of the apartments.

Mr.Murthy realized the truth that the purpose of welfare association is not being solved though the body has got all legal power in controlling all illegal things, the committee members are not serious about the rules and regulations of the welfare society. They themselves were not obeying the rules. That is why Mr. Murthy was refusing to pay more money as maintenance charges. In his protest, he said, ‘Why do a very few residents take all final decision? Even the executive meetings are held without taking the correct forum of the body without the attendance of a one-third majority of committee members. Sometimes the executive body follows a secret polling system that, the residents can give their opinions secretly on a secret ballad paper regarding hike of maintenance charges, more purchase of water, etc. According to the bye-laws of the association act, executive members can verify and check the passbook, receipt, cheque book of the association with the help of treasurer and secretary. In reality, no such power is given to the members. All the financial decision is taken by two or three members only.’’

According to the bye-laws of association it has been clearly mentioned that the office bearer like treasurer, secretary, and president together or any of them can not withdraw money from the joint account more than one lakh rupees at a time. If they want to use it for any development purpose then, they must take an oral or written vote of all the residents in general body meeting. But the executive members violated all rules and regulations. They withdrew a huge amount of money without caring for others opinions. Maybe residents were not concerned about all these things. It is like a monopoly, arbitrary rule of the association against democracy in a democratic country. Democracy is not followed where some people rule over all residents. Others like to be ruled by a few residents. Even the body did not feel like to show the annual budget in annual body meeting as all the residents have their right to know about the financial budget of the year.

Always Mr. Moorthy and his family members became the target of humiliation. They were ridiculed by other members. As usual Mr. Moorthy opposed the hike of maintenance charges. Residents and their family members were angry with him. They elected Mr. Moorthy as a treasurer so that, he can prove himself. He can run the association with fewer expenses by restoring preserving natural resources like water and electricity both.

Mr. Moorthy’s wife Kalabali helped him a lot. She started her work from water. She measured the label of water is stored in the sump. She took a reading or measurement of water every day that how much water is required per flat and how much time is required to uplift water from the base to overhead tank. She also calculated the water is used every day by the residents. How much water is stored in the sump and overhead tan, both. She calculated the electricity is used per hour to uplift the water from sump to overhead tank also. She tried her best to prove her husband’s capability, efficiency in controlling the wastage of water electricity and extravagance of the association’s fund.

A federation had been made to look after the development of the society. Some blocks together made a federation who made some rules and regulations to make the necessary development of the society. But the selfish purpose of the federation was not to serve the locality but to trouble the residents in the name of laws. Their selfish purpose was to trouble the builder also who had constructed those buildings with the collaboration of other builders. According to the previous contract made with the builder, the federation wanted to fulfill their demand. But the builder did not agree to fulfill some contract, so federation was angry. They suit a case against the builder. Federation influenced the local magistrate, municipal authority along with bank and government officers. Federation was succeeded in winning the case. The local municipality took a drastic action against the residents when the local judicial court gave an order in favour of the federation.

The municipal office with the help of the police department broke the pillar of the building of the ground floor which was absolutely against the rules and regulations of the building construction work. So it damaged the root of the building creating heavy financial loss to the occupants or owners of that building. According to the rules they must give notice to the builder before breaking his construction. If it is illegal then, they can break the building from top floors not from the bottom floor which can cause the demolition of the building. They must take the approval of other building occupants before taking any drastic action through mutual agreement. Even the builder could have given some penalty or fine to other residents of that area through negotiating with all members of the federation. This sort of violence or inhuman and drastic action caused a great property loss to people. So people of seashells area could realize the moral value or idealism or principles of Mr. Moorthy’s life.

They realized the value of morals, reasoning, rational thought which really influence, has a direct impact on society. If society does not follow social rules, morality, then human society cannot survive all will go to destruction ruin, end of civilization modern or primitive whatever name people to name it. Man is a rational and social being so, how can human being forget the idealism, rational thinking. How can they forget the principles, idealism of the society? How can they forget the democratic principles of the society? Whereas in India, democracy is prevailing. People are ruled by the laws, the laws which they have been made by themselves. They are the rulers and ruled both. Right and duties are interrelated which is someone’s right that becomes other’s duties. Mr.Moorthy idealism, democratic principles of alertness towards the individual’s duties and rights influenced the people very much. Their conscience had awakened from their slumber. They could feel regards for his idealism and principles; they did not hate him rather they started liking him. Residents of sea shell apartment withdrawn the case that they filed against him though he lost the case but he was the winner. They begged him an apology for their rudeness, misbehavior, rough languages they rebuked him, tormented him badly. Mr. Moorthy also excused them forgetting all past quarrels and arguments he had with them.