 "PM's office asks Haryana to look into complaints against Raheja Developers")
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has issued a letter to the Haryana chief secretary to look into complaints against a Raheja Developer’s housing project in Gurgaon. A group of flatowners had moved the PMO alleging irregularities in the Atharva project on the Delhi-Gurgaon border. This comes close on the heels of a lawsuit filed by 43 flatowners in the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, obtaining a stay order against the cancellation of flat allotment.
[caption id=“attachment_114140” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Raheja website. Screen grab[/caption]
Wing Commander Alok Verma, to whom a copy of the letter was sent, is one of the complainants. He alleged that the builders have received occupancy certificate from the Haryana government without providing for water or electricity. “Mr Raheja (Navin Raheja, chairman and managing director of Raheja Developers) launched the Atharva project in 2007-08. Buyers have paid 90 percent of their installments to the builder only to realise that there is no water or electricity provision in Atharva,” said Verma.
“Raheja is now asking us to pay the remaining installment and has threatened to cancel our flat allotment if we don’t pay up,” he added. “But why should we pay the rest of the amount when there is no basic infrastructure in the project?"
Raheja Developers claims buyers who have taken possession in Atharva have water and electricity connection. “Electricity and water supply are under the purview of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda). Despite having deposited the full amount, there is no infrastructure. We have made alternative arrangements for electricity and water through diesel gensets and tankers,” said Dimple Bhardwaj, general manager, corporate communications, in an email.
The flatowners who moved the National Consumer Redressal Commission have also asked Raheja Developers to compensate them for a three-year delay in the project. “Atharva was to be delivered in 2011 but we got possession in 2014. Our agreement with the developer says they should pay us compensation at the rate of Rs 7 per sq ft per month,” says Verma. He and his co-complainants are now demanding compensation at an interest rate of 18 percent per annum, the rate at which Raheja charges from buyers for any delay in payment.
The developers blame the Huda for the delay. They claim Atharva had been completed within the pre-determined time frame but the possession could not be handed over due to the lack of infrastructure in the area. “We had also informed through our mails in September 2011 sent to all customers that necessary infrastructure like 24-metre road connectivity, water and sewerage, which was to be developed by Huda, has not been done despite the follow up by all developers in the vicinity. Almost 70-80 percent of the buyers refused to take possession. Delivery of apartment is as per our commitment and delay, if any, is due to the non-completion of infrastructure work by the Huda,” said Bhardwaj of Raheja Developers.
The company seems to be headed for more trouble as a group of 100 buyers of the Vedaanta project have sent it a legal notice complaining against a three-year delay and non-payment of compensation. About 50 buyers of the Navodaya project are preparing to file a case against the group as well. “We will file a case in the second week of January in the national consumer commission asking for the developer to pay compensation at the rate of 18 per cent per annum,” says Ajit Kumar Jha, a buyer. “The project was to be delivered within 36 months of its launch in July 2007, but we haven’t yet got our flat allotment. We have all taken loans to buy flats so we want the builder to pay us compensation for the delay."
Raheja Developers has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In June, Forbes India had written about the company silencing its critics by filing defamation cases. Here is the link to the story:
It’s Builders Vs Buyers in the Indian Real Estate Industry
While delays in real estate projects are common, buyers are no longer taking it lying down. In May, the Competition Appellate Tribunal asked India’s leading developer DLF to pay a penalty of Rs 630 crore. Such orders have encouraged buyers to approach courts against developers.
This article was published in Forbes India. You can read it here .