Pune News : Elderly Couple in Wanowrie Penalized Over Rs 5 Lakhs for Placing Ganesh Idol In Common Area
By: Pune Pulse
July 14, 2023
Pune: An elderly couple residing in Flower Valley Co-operative Housing Society in Wanowrie have been asked to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh 62 thousand for allegedly encroaching upon the lobby area by keeping a 2.5 feet Ganapati idol outside their flat.
Speaking to Pune Pulse, Satish Honawar, Flat Owner at Flower Valley Co-operative Housing Society said, ” The 2-2.5 feet Ganapati idol has been kept outside our flat for 21 years now and is made out of paper. I was the Chairman of the society from 2016-2019. I resigned due to health issues. A new body was formed which introduced some new rules. Hence, we have been facing this issue since the last four years.”
He further stated, “ All the people visit our flat and worship the god. We live on the last floor. No one else has any issue with the idol. It is beyond my understanding as to why society will have this issue. I believe that it is not an encroachment. So, we approached the co-operative court and told them everything. The case is going on and the next date of hearing is August 3. We are senior citizens and we do not want to harass anyone. Also, we are not going to move this idol from here no matter what happens.”
As per information, after purchasing a flat at Flower Valley Co-operative Housing Society in 2002, the elderly couple, Satish & Sandhya Honawar, kept the idol of Lord Ganesha in the corner outside the house as a place of worship. In 2019, after the resignation of Satish Honawar as the chairman of the society, a new body was formed and after that new rules came. The society issued a rule that no one should remove footwear, place tree trunks or any other object in the lobby outside their flats. If kept, a fine of five times the monthly tax will be levied. Hence, a fine of Rs 5 lakh 62 thousand has been imposed on the elderly couple by totalling the outstanding amount of only 4 years as this rule wasn’t there before 2019.
Kalyan Raman, Secretary of Flower Valley Society said, “The issue of Ganesh Idol kept in the common lobby area of the floor by a member has been blown out of proportion. It is nothing but an action by the society against encroachment in the common areas of the society. This action was started by the society with approval of the General Body in August 2019. As per the resolution approved by the General Body, no member is allowed to keep any personal item in the common lobby area of the society or use any part of the area for his / her purpose. The action was necessary as 118 members had encroached on the common lobby of the society or erected illegal extensions outside the sanctioned floor plan. 79 members of the society sent a petition to the Managing Committee urging us to stop such encroachments or else allow them to do the same. We have 331 units(287 flats) in our society with almost 1200 residents.”
He further said, “The action by the society was well supported by the members of the society with almost 110 members having removed the encroachments. Some paid the penalties and many removed the encroachments within the grace period given by the society. The member who has kept the Ganesh Idol has accepted that he has been keeping it since 2002 and that it is a common lobby area. It is very clear that as by-Laws Laws of Co-op Housing Societies, common lobby areas are the property that belongs to all members of the society and no member can use the place for his or her personal use. The member had approached the Co-op court and was given a stay in the beginning. This was challenged by the society and the stay was vacated by the Hon. Appellate Court. The order of the Hon. Appellate court has held that common property cannot be occupied by any member for their personal use. The society has followed the by-laws and have charged the penalty as provisioned in it. However, the general body resolved to levy a penalty of 5 times the maintenance charges only from October 2019 and not from the date of encroachment. Our society’s maintenance charges are low and hence the 5 times penalty is also lower. Society’s objective was to bring in discipline and order and not revenue generation. The charges mentioned by the member are the cumulative of the penalty with interest over the last 4 years.”
He further clarified, “Our society has members following various faiths and have been having a peaceful coexistence for more than 20 years. What is approved by the general body applies to all members irrespective of their age, health condition or faith they follow. We sincerely hope that the member, like the other 110 members, accepts the resolution and follows the same principle and spirit of co-existence. The issue which has been inside the society for the last few years, has now come out in public knowledge putting undue pressure on the members of the managing committee. This is very unfortunate.”
Digambar Hausare, Deputy Registrar, Pune 40 area said, “The Flower Valley Society has informed us by letter that the lobby in front of the house has been encroached upon. However, there is no mention of installing an idol of Lord Ganesha in it. The case is going on currently in the cooperative court, the next hearing date is in August.”
