Zirakpur: Builder told to refund over Rs 2.76 crore to Jaipuria Sunrise Greens Apartments Owners’ Welfare Association

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 25

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Punjab, has ordered a builder, SMV Agencies, New Delhi, to refund Rs 2,76,86,080, along with 18 per cent interest, to the Jaipuria Sunrise Greens Apartments Owners’ Welfare Association in Zirakpur.

Commission president Justice Paramjeet Singh Dhaliwal further directed the opposite party (OP) to refund Rs20 lakh, along with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from August 27, 2016, till realisation, to the complainant, which has been collected by the OP from the allottees for day-to-day/routine/miscellaneous operations of the complex.

The OP was also directed to provide all certificates and complete statutory compliances regarding the complex to the welfare association; restore the common area to its original condition by cancelling the sale transaction at its own expenses and status quo with regard to further construction thereon, if any. The commission further ordered the OP to pay Rs2 lakh towards litigation costs and other expenses. The compliance of this order shall be made by the opposite party within a period of 30 days.

Advocate Sanjay Kaushal, counsel for the complainant, averred there were a number of allottees of the Welfare Association who had taken possession of apartments and had paid interest-free maintenance security (IFMS), which comes out to be Rs2.81 crore approximately, to the builder. The builder also collected monthly maintenance charges from the allottees from year 2012 to 2018, varying from Rs2,000 to Rs2,500. After its formation, the complainant -Welfare Association - wrote a letter to the OP to hand over documents of various statutory compliances of the project. During the process of negotiations, the builder agreed to refund the IFMS, along with interest, to the Welfare Association in the presence of the SDM, Dera Bassi. However, it has not been refunded till the date of filing of the complaint.

It is further averred that the OP owes a sum of Rs20,88,774 to the complainants for day-to-day operations as per the statement of accounts from April 2018 to October 2020. It has also not installed two more gen sets for backup to lifts, STP, street lights and above 1 kW load to be provided to each of 971 apartments.

Advocate Anish Verma, counsel for the OP, said the complainant had not shown any basis of its claim for the refund of IFMS to the tune of approximately Rs2.81 crore and the builder had completed the project in year 2013 and applied for the completion certificate, which was received in year 2015.

It is further pleaded that the completion certificate has been issued by the authorities after due inspection of the premises and the fire-fighting system has been duly checked and approved. It is denied that the school building was part of the common area as the school area was already demarcated in the final plan of the project. It was prayed that the complaint be dismissed with exemplary costs.