Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J. - (1.) The Greenwood Park Extension Apartment Owners' Association, a registered Association under the provisions of the West Bengal Apartment Ownership Act, 1972 (in brief, "the 1972 Act") and its Secretary have preferred the instant writ application against an order dated April 12, 2019, whereby the Competent Authority under the 1972 Act, upon hearing the grievance of Low Income Group (LIG) residents of the said apartment regarding maintenance charges and allied issues, ordered that the Association shall collect maintenance charges on the basis of the value of each apartment; if the Association wants to collect maintenance charges on the basis of built-up area of the apartment then they have to amend the Form 'A' in accordance with present format by submitting Form 'B'. It was also ordered that all facilities, that is, community hall, lobby, gymnasium, etc., shall be opened for the use of all the owners.
(2.) The petitioners argue that the West Bengal Apartment Ownership Byelaws, 1974 (in brief, "the 1974 Bye-laws") originally stipulated that maintenance charges would have to be calculated on pro rata basis according to the value of each individual flat as provided in Form 'A', being the declaration submitted under Section 10(1)(g) of the 1972 Act. However, with effect from February 26, 2016 such system was replaced, providing that maintenance charges were to be calculated pro rata according to the built-up area of the flats. With effect from November, 2016, the Board of Managers of the Association started raising maintenance bills on the flat owners as per the amended provisions of the 1974 Bye-laws. Such calculation on the basis of built-up area, instead of the value of the flats, became a bone of contention between the complainants (LIG owners) and the Board.
(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that, as per the amended Bye-law 20(2) of the 1974 Bye-laws, the maintenance charges have to be calculated pro rata according to the built-up area in terms of Form 'A'. Since the Form A submitted in respect of Greenwood Park Extension reflects the built-up areas of all 276 flats within the apartment complex, the petitioners submit that there is no impediment to calculation of the maintenance charges on the basis of such built-up area.;