The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC), Mumbai Suburban, has directed S. Constructions to refund Rs 1.93 lakh with 6 per cent annual interest to two Mulund homebuyers after finding the developer guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practices.
The commission also awarded Rs 20,000 as compensation for mental agony and Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.
The case was filed by the Consumer Welfare Association along with Mulund residents Shakti and Vidnya Sawant, who alleged that they had paid around Rs 3.38 lakh towards the construction of two MHADA residential plots. According to the complainants, the developer had promised to complete the construction within two years but failed to do so.
An architect’s inspection later revealed that construction on the two plots was only 55 per cent and 60 per cent complete, respectively, despite claims that the project had been finished.
During the proceedings, Radheshyam Cooperative Housing Society and the developer contended that the complainants were not the original allottees and that the complaint was barred by limitation. They also maintained that the plots had been completed and occupation certificates obtained in 2005.
Rejecting these arguments, the consumer commission held the developer responsible for failing to deliver the promised construction work and granted relief to the complainants.
Source: The Free Press Journal
