Noida: Residents of Eros Sampoornam, a large residential complex in Greater Noida West, were left without electricity for several hours on Friday after the developer allegedly snapped the power supply following protests over a proposed hike in maintenance charges. The outage severely disrupted daily life across the 21-tower condominium, which comprises nearly 1,768 flats. Residents said the power cut led to the suspension of water supply, shutdown of lifts, and caused particular hardship to children, senior citizens and people dependent on medical equipment.
According to residents, the power disruption came after a large number of occupants refused to pay the revised maintenance fee and demanded transparency and justification for the increase. They alleged that the move was deliberate and aimed at pressuring residents into accepting the hike by disrupting essential services. The outage triggered protests within the society premises, with residents accusing the developer of using basic amenities as a coercive tool.
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Residents seek official intervention
AOA President Dipankar Kumar alleges that repeated appeals to the Greater Noida Authority and the local police had failed to bring immediate relief.
Power was disconnected on Friday, leading to a complete breakdown of essential services. Water supply stopped, lifts shut down and several residents were briefly trapped inside.
Dipankar Kumar, AOA President, Eros Sampoornam
Residents claimed the situation highlighted the vulnerability of large housing societies where developers continue to control essential services even years after possession.
Developer denies allegations
The developer, however, denied allegations of a deliberate power cut and attributed the disruption to a technical fault.
Alakshendra Singh, Head of Corporate Communications at Eros Group, said the company had been managing maintenance since the flats were handed over in 2017 at a rate of ₹1.95 per square foot.
The maintenance charges had not been revised for nine years despite a clause permitting an annual 8% increase, adding that the company refrained from hiking fees during the Covid-19 pandemic on humanitarian grounds. An earlier proposal in 2022 to raise maintenance charges to ₹2.5 per square foot was withdrawn following resident protests. Recently, advance notices were issued cautioning that services would be difficult to sustain without a revision in fees.
Alakashendra Singh, Head of Corporate Communications, Eros Group
According to the developer, on Friday, security and housekeeping services were withdrawn, while diesel generator (DG) sets were limited to operating lifts. Singh said a technical fault at the power distribution company around 2 pm caused the electricity disruption, which was later restored.
Ongoing tensions
The incident has once again brought to focus recurring tensions between residents and developers over maintenance control, fee transparency and essential service management in large housing societies across Greater Noida West. Residents have demanded intervention from the authority to ensure uninterrupted services and a clear framework for maintenance governance.