In
a ruling that will bring cheer to worried home buyers, a consumer forum in New
Delhi has asked Parsvnath Developers to pay nearly Rs. 5 lakh to a customer for
its failure to complete a project in which he had booked a flat. The consumer
forum said it amounted to “deficiency in service“.
West
Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, presided by Mr. Bimla Makin, asked the
realty firm to pay Rs. 4,98,768 to Delhi resident Mr. Vinay Vig for failing to
complete its housing project in Sonepat in Haryana. It also awarded him a
compensation of Rs. 30,000 towards litigation expenses.
The
forum noted that the builder was supposed to complete the construction work and
hand over possession in 36 months, but even after 42 months no construction had
come up on the spot. The ruling noted that even in the reply, the builder did
not commit a date, month or year for project completion. So, the complainant
has a genuine cause of action for approaching the forum.
Mr.
Vinay Vig told the forum that he had booked a flat with the real estate firm in
its project called Parsvnath Preston Sonepat in September 2008 and deposited
over Rs. 1 lakh as booking amount. He paid the next instalment as per a demand
notice the same month. A buyer agreement was also executed.
The
builder / developer rejected the complainant’s claim, saying Vig was not a
consumer and had made an investment in order to earn profits. It said the
project was delayed due to circumstances beyond its control, including the
global recession.
- PTI
No comments:
Post a Comment