BHUBANESWAR: In what will certainly bring respite to hundreds of home buyers in Odisha, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has asked a developer to compensate buyers for delay in giving possession of flats in Bhubaneswar.
A two-member bench of the Commission comprising its president RK Agrawal and member SM Kantikar, asked developer LIC HFL Care Home Limited to pay the compensation in the form of interest at 9.75 per cent per annum on the amount deposited by complainants from April 2013 till the date of delivery of the possession of the apartments within six weeks. The panel warned if the developer fails to deliver the flats to the allottees within eight weeks, the compensation will be hiked to an interest rate of 12 per cent per annum.
Acting on a group petition filed by 92 home buyers of ‘Jeevan Anand’ project, developed by the firm near AMRI Hospitals in Bhubaneswar, the Commission in its order issued a week back made it clear that “it is not in dispute that the possession of the allotted flats was to delivered in April 2013 but the opposition party (developer) offered the possession to the complainants after an inordinate delay of more than seven years.” The possession was handed over to the allottees in January 2020, the panel observed.
While pronouncing the order, the NCDRC cited the judgement of the Supreme Court in ‘Ireo Grace Realtech Pvt Ltd vs Abhishek Khanna and Ors’ case with civil appeal no 5785/2019 where the apex court had observed that the developer is obligated to pay compensation for the period of delay which occurred in offering possession to the allottees.
“Since the opposition party is charging interest at 9.75 per cent on delayed payments, it will be in the interest of justice if the complainants are awarded delay compensation in the same form of interest from April 2013 till the date of delivery of possession of the flats,” the order stated. NCDRC, however, clarified that the developer will work out the compensation amount after adjustment of the outstanding charges payable by the complainants to get possession of their flats.