CHENNAI: After failing to secure houses that were promised to be delivered by 2013, a group of defence personnel are planning to take the fight against Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) to the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
The organisation, a Delhi-based welfare society formed by serving defence personnel, which provides low-cost housing to servicemen and war widows, is constructing 400 dwelling units in Chinnavedampatti in Coimbatore, including 32 small apartments, 64 modern apartments, 96 deluxe apartments, 32 super deluxe apartments, 48 luxury apartments and 128 row houses.
When the registration began, buyers were assured that the houses would be handed over by 2013. That deadline passed, but the project was not completed. An officer who was one of the 400 owners of the yet-to-be-finished project said on condition of anonymity that he had bought a row house to lead his post-retirement life, after spending 30 years serving in sensitive areas like Kashmir and the northeast.
“I was hoping to lease it out once the construction is over and then take over possession. But both have not happened. Instead, I have been asked to pay additional `14 lakh as cost has escalated due to risk and expense,” said the officer.
Another officer told Express that he was assured that his house would be ready for occupation by December 2013 when he had booked it in 2011. “The construction continued to be delayed. It was blamed on the contractor and the AWHO gave an option to the buyers to withdraw at their own risk. I withdrew at a loss of `6 lakh,” the officer said.
The allottees have alleged there are also unresolved issues over the quality of construction. “We plan to approach RERA seeking possession at the earliest as well as compensation for the inordinate delay. We are also seeking compensation on account of unfair trade practice of revising the delivery date and increasing the total consideration for the dwelling unit on a regular basis,” said the allottees.
“We have paid 95 per cent of the cost but the AWHO has been unfair. They have now set December 2017 as the delivery date, but I doubt they will adehere to it,” said another army personnel.
Factfile
The Raman Vihar Project of Army Welfare Housing Organisation has been delayed by four years
Many of the army personnel withdrew from the project due to rising cost
The cost has shot up from H43.60 lakh in 2012 to H57.19 lakh
Most of the allottees are serving and retired officers in the Army