Homeowners in India Roll Up Sleeves to Complete Unfinished Flats

  • Nation has estimated $65 billion of stalled housing projects
  • Builders’ annual debt repayments estimated at $18.5 billion
Sarju Saini, front, and other buyers at their unfinished Orbit apartment building.Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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Lalit Vazirani, a computer programmer from Mumbai, never reckoned on having to turn amateur property developer.

Yet here he is, a decade after putting down a deposit for an apartment near the city’s airport, dealing with architects, taxes, various planning permissions and even court hearings. All because the developer behind the $50 million project has gone bust, and nobody else has stepped in to finish the work.