Builders fail to give flat on time, penalised

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 6

The consumer forum has penalised two builders for failing to deliver the possession of a flat to a couple in the stipulated time.

Allied Infrazone & Developers Pvt Ltd, Chandigarh, its director Syed Hussain Shanaz and Punjab Empires Pvt Ltd, Mohali, along with its director Randhir Sood, have been asked to pay a fine of Rs 60,000 and refund Rs 10.80 lakh to the couple.

According to the complaint of Hemlata and her husband Kuldeep Singh, on May 8, 2014, they had applied for a residential flat in the project, “Premium Homes”, in Gulmohar Valley, Lalru, SAS Nagar district, Punjab, for personal use and the total cost of the flat was Rs 12.39 lakh. They paid Rs 60,000 to the opposite parties on May 14, 2014, along with the application form.

Later, they paid Rs 1.21 lakh to the opposite parties on June 23, 2014, and Rs 1.20 lakh on August 20, 2014.

They entered into an apartment buyer’s agreement on August 17, 2014, and paid Rs 39,000. The couple was allotted a flat measuring 645 sq ft vide an allotment letter dated February 25, 2015. According to the agreement, the opposite parties were to deliver the possession of the flat to the couple within 24 months.

The complainants visited the site in 2016 and 2017, but the work at the site and the allotted flat was not completed. As such, the complainants sought a refund from the opposite parties, but to no avail. Hence, they approached the consumer forum.

In its reply, Allied Infrazone stated that it was the responsibility of Punjab Empires to deliver the possession because the agreement had been made by them and they had received the payments. Punjab Empires submitted that the flat had been completed within the stipulated period of two years, but the buyer did not come forward to pay the balance amount of more than Rs 2 lakh plus the registration charges to take possession.

The forum asked a  commissioner to submit a report in this regard. The report stated that the flat  was  not worth habitation. The forum said photos of the project pointed to a sorry state of affairs. It thus penalised the builders.