At a time when the Anna wave has enthralled the entire nation, capturing imagination and consciousness of millions of Indians to protest against corruption and injustice, real estate - one of the sectors perhaps most vulnerable to fraudulent practices - is facing the wrath of aggrieved buyers. Encouraged by an order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against DLF, the largest realty developer, home buyers hit by project delays and sudden change in building plans are considering legal action either through courts or the CCI.
Lawyers in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata have been approached by people whose dream homes remain a distant dream as real estate developers keep postponing projects and missing delivery deadlines. The CCI order has come as a huge boost to those looking for relief as some have decided to move the courts or the CCI, while some others are weighing the options, said lawyers. Law firms have started receiving queries from consumers on how they could seek intervention of the CCI against developers.
The competition watchdog on Tuesday slapped a penalty of 630 crore on DLF for taking undue advantage of its dominant position in the market. The commission found DLF guilty of commencement of residential project The Belaire in Haryana’s Gurgaon without approvals, increasing the number of floors mid-way through the project, delay in project completion, and forfeiture of booking amount of some buyers.
Customers at Kolkata West International City, an integrated township project spread over 400 acres in the capital of West Bengal, are thinking of approaching the CCI, as the project is far behind its delivery timeline. Even the first phase of the project, scheduled to be delivered in 2008, is yet to be completed.
“We did not move court till now because we did not want to get into legal complications. Not even consumer court because the flats are not yet ready. Some of us who have been given possession letter have approached consumer court but a verdict is yet to be out. On the contrary, we have approached West Bengal government seeking their intervention in the subject. Now, we and our lawyers plan and take a call on approaching CCI in a week’s time,” said KWIC Buyer’s Welfare Association president Abhay Upadhyay. The project, which is a mix of housing and commercial establishments, is being developed by the Salim Group of Indonesia and the Universal Success Group of Singapore, with support from the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.
In a similar such instance, a home buyer Shahnawaz Deriya, along with a group of customers at residential project Sagar City in Andheri suburb of Mumbai, has been fighting for over a year against the builder Cordcon Constructions for delay in delivery for four years. The group has already filed a case in the State Consumer Court, but is now seeking legal opinion to get the intervention of the CCI against the developer. “Yes, we are handling few inquiries that have come after the CCI’s order on DLF,” said H Jayesh, Founder & Partner at law firm Juris Corp.
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