Salman Khan 'overpays' for flat, lands in trouble

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has once again landed in trouble for paying a higher amount than the actual market value of a house in ‘The Address’ building at Bandstand in Bandra (West).

Khan has bought a 1,079-square metre carpet area on the 11th floor of the 28-storey building. The building is being developed by Samudra Developers Pvt Ltd of the Dheeraj Group.

Besides paying Rs1. 64 crore towards stamp duty, Khan has paid almost Rs20 crore for the said area.

“It comes to almost Rs1.80 lakh per square feet, against the market rate of Rs25,000 to Rs30,000. The amount is six times more when compared to the existing market rate. It is quite high. It must be a case of money laundering,” said YP Singh, an activist who played a major role in exposing the controversial Adarsh Housing scam.

Singh fears that once Khan gets the possession of the house, the flat will be amalgamated.

“Two parking lots, lobby, swimming pool and the telephone area will be amalgamated. Hence, his actual area of 1,079 square metre on paper will turn into 3,000 square metre one  by attaching all these areas. It helps them to save the stamp duty and other government taxes,” alleged Singh.

“The illegal additional floor of the building should be demolished immediately, as it has violated several rules and regulation,” said Singh.

The building falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). “Here, the developers can avail only one Floor Space Index, but it seems he had used more than one. It is a violation of CRZ norms. The matter should be investigated by the CBI,” Singh demanded.
Khan was not available for comment.

Dheeraj Wadhwan, MD of the Dheeraj Group was also unavailable for comment.