NCDRC Nullifies Bizarre Claims From Developer For Delay In Possession

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Real estate major Unitech has finally been shown the exit by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). Warding off all the presented facts by the company in its claim for delay in handling the property, the Authority asked them to deliver the possession to the suffering home-buyers within due time along with an interest charged for the delay. The company had even cited that shortage of the labour and raw material caused by the 2010 Commonwealth Game in Delhi was the cause for the delay in deliverance.

On Jan 29, 2018, NCDRC Justice V. K. Jain arbitrarily superseded all such strange claims and ordered the realty major to pay penalties adhere to the deal executed by both the parties.

Monika Pal Sood, the complainant, had filed a petition where it was denoted that she and few other home-buyers booked flats with Unitech in a project named “Exquisite”, Nirvana Country-2, Gurgaon. Each of the sales was agreed to be of more than Rs 1 crore and the complainants were issued allotment letters.

Followed by the buyers’ agreements the allotment had clocked in. According to the clause 4(a) of the buyers’ agreement, the developer was likely to deliver the possession within a period of 36 months from agreement date which the developer could not fulfill.

Despite defending such allegations made by the home buyers the OP (Unitech) had conceded that the company had decided the allotment to the complainants as well as the receipt of the consideration from them. In a written consideration the OP mentioned several bizarre reasons supporting the company’s inability to project allocation-

1) The development work had to face a severe shortage of available labour and supply of the raw materials due to then ongoing Common Wealth Game in 2010.

2) The unfavoured economic condition generated a massive slowdown in real estate market which had reduced the supply of labour and raw materials significantly.

3) Several rural policy implementations such as- National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) are also significant causes behind the labour shortage in the market.

4) A previous written order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court dated 16th July 2012; it had imposed a restriction on the consumption of the groundwater for the building purpose.

5) Limited availability of bricks followed by the restrictions was made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests dated 14th September 1999. Followed by which the production of bricks was stopped within 50 km surrounding of the Coal and Ignite Thermal Power Plans without mixing at least one-fourth part of ash with soil.

6) An Environment Clearance notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests based on the National Environment Policy which was sanctioned by the Government on 18th May 2006 which was published on 14th September 2006.

Having not received the possession the home-buyers moved the commission seeking justice with respect to the possession allotment or the substitute recompense on the context of which the commission ordered the Unitech Group to provide one and the same ready-to-move residential units in the same locality or restitution of an amount calculated at Rs. 10,000 per sq ft. of the area of the flat as per the fair market value of the similar projects. The complainants also called for an interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date mentioned a date of the possession in the agreement until the date of actual allocation other than the exemption from the enhancement of overall cost and the service taxes.

“Real estate stakeholders should follow certain code of conduct to maintain fair practice in the industry. This outcome of the judgement will act as a reference to many future cases related to Real Estate disputes and this will definitely act as a reminder for the parties to uphold transparency in their operational behaviour.” said Mr Mahesh Somani, Chairman- National RERA Committee, National Association of Realtors India (NAR-INDIA).

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