The District Consumer Forum has directed the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) to pay a 10 per cent interest on the amount deposited towards a flat for the delay in construction and handing over of the deed to the owner. The complainants,Vijay Kumar and his father Painu Ram,said they had applied for the housing scheme 160 one-bed Room Flats Self-Financing Housing Scheme,floated by the Chandigarh Housing Board on free hold basis in 2006. They had appled under the Scheduled Caste Category of Sub-Scheme A. They were declared successful in a draw of lots held on April 17,2006,and were issued the acceptance-cum-demand notice with the total price of the flat fixed at Rs.12.90 lakh. It was averred that the father-son duo jointly raised a loan of Rs 10,26,300 from ICICI Bank for the purchase of the said flat. Despite making the advance payment,Vijay Kumar has not been handed over the possession of the flat. Alleging deficiency in service and unfair trade practice,the complainant moved the consumer forum. In its reply,Chandigarh Housing Board pleaded that the complainant had applied for permission to mortgage the property with ICICI Bank. They further argued that the amount mentioned in the consent letter was Rs 10,00,000 whereas in the complaint the loan amount was shown as Rs 10,26,300. The forum,however,ruled: The CHB in their reply has not mentioned any reason as to why there was a delay in starting or completing the construction of the flat. The forum also stated that CHB has already used the amount for more than two years while the complainant has been paying interest on the amount borrowed from the bank. There should be some reasonable time in completing the construction and handing over the possession of flats even if they did not mention the same in the acceptance letter, asserted the forum. Setting two years as the deadline,the forum said CHB is liable to pay a 10 per cent interest on the amount with effect from October 1,2008,to July 31,2009,to the complainant. If the possession is not handed over by that date,the rate of interest would be 12 per cent per annum thereafter, concluded the forum.
