Builder offers flats cheaper than MHADA, sued for misleading ad

Builder offers flats cheaper than MHADA, sued for misleading ad

A real estate firm, Ekta World, in their recent ad campaign showed an image of Anil Kapoor, who is endorsing the brand, claimed that it is selling flats at rates cheaper than MHADA’s. Ashok Mohnani, the owner of Ekta World, claimed that while in Virar MHADA’s latest homes were priced at Rs 6,500 per sq ft; the rates of his project are Rs 5,500 per sq ft.
However, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority are furious with the construction company because the claims of the firm are false. MHADA officials have asked their Vice President S S Zende to initiate action against the firm for misguiding people. Zende said the proposal to initiate action against the builder has been moved to the vigilance department.
The builder on the other hand, maintains that he has done nothing wrong. “If MHADA serves me notice, I will reply to it,” Mohnani argued, adding that When MHADA-held lottery in February sold flats at prices higher than the market rate, we decided to launch such a campaign and it is solely based on the data that is available on the MHADA website.
The website of Ekta World shows a comparison between their rates and MHADA’s in Virar. According to their calculation, the per square meter rate quoted by the builder is R63, 418, while MHADA sold the same at Rs 73,816.

The housing authority has consulted Advertising Standards Council of India, that talks about fair competition and the technical department will check whether the prices and the areas of both the projects are the same and if not, then the advertisement will prove to be misleading. “We have goodwill and it no one can fiddle with it,” said a MHADA official.