Poor construction: Chandigarh Housing Board told to pay Rs 1 lakh relief to allottee

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, June 12

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to an allottee for poor quality of construction of the flat and causing him mental agony and harassment.

The commission also directed the CHB to pay interest at the rate of 9% per annum on the amount deposited by him for a period of delay in delivering the possession of the flat.

In a complaint filed through advocate Neeraj Pal Sharma, Prakash Lal Ahuja stated that he had applied in the 2015 group housing scheme floated by the CHB in Sector 51-A and was declared successful.

On June 10, 2016, he was issued acceptance-cum-demand letter (ACDL) for a flat in Sector 51-A and asked to make a payment of the balance Rs 67,29,500 within 90 days. He paid the entire amount on October 19, 2016.

The period for development of flats was 36 months from the date of issuance of ACDL. However, the CHB gave the possession of the flat on March 3, 2020, against the promised date of June 9, 2019. Having apprehensions about the quality of construction, he got his flat examined by an experienced civil engineer who submitted his report on July 9, 2022.

Denying the allegations, the CHB stated that as per Clause 25 of the brochure, the development works/construction at sites shall be done approximately 36 months from the ACDL date, except for some unavoidable circumstances. If for reasons beyond the control of the board, it is unable to deliver the unit, it shall be liable to refund to the allottees the amounts received along with interest at the rate of 4% per annum and not liable to pay any compensation. There was uncontrollable delay in shifting 11 KV wires so the flat has been allotted to the complainant with some delay.

The flats were constructed as per the drawing and as per CPWD specifications. There were some basic faults such as seepage and broken tiles, which on receiving a complaint from the complainant were rectified to his satisfaction, the board stated.

After hearing of the arguments, the commission directed the CHB to pay to the complainant interest from June 10, 2019, to March 3, 2020, on the amounts deposited by him, a compensation of Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 30,000 as the cost of litigation.

The commission observed that the photographs placed on record not only spoke volume about the material used by the opposite party, but also depicted the flaws in the construction, thereby compromising the strength of the building.