Not just late deliveries, homebuyers now face a slew of other post-possession pitfalls

A new dimension is added to the woes of homebuyers who have been suffering for long due to delayed delivery. Today, the joy of getting possession of the much-awaited home is short-lived as one discovers that there is no power and tap water connection, no drainage and sewerage system and no proper road connectivity. Moreover, there is a big question mark over the quality of construction and safety of the building. These are among the various post-possession pitfalls faced by many home buyers.

This issue has acquired a dangerous dimension with the much-publicised demolition on August 28 this year of two illegally constructed residential towers in Supertech's high-rise Emerald Court building in Noida on the orders of the Supreme Court after a legal battle by the residents lasting nine long years.

The sordid episode of Supertech followed the demolition of four high-rise luxury waterfront residential complexes in Kochi in 2020 on the orders of the Supreme Court for the violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). In June this year, the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ordered real estate developer M3M to halt construction of an extra 11th tower in its high-rise residential project Merlin in Sector 67, Gurugram, deeming it illegal, though M3M reportedly said that the facts were falsely presented. The M3M case is parallel to the Supertech case in a sense that the extra tower was built in violation of the original layout plan and the consent of the residents was not taken before taking the approval of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning Department.

More recently, the Gurugram administration has ordered the demolition of a structurally unsafe highrise tower, Chintels Paradiso, in Gurugram, eight months after a large portion of the sixth floor flat collapsed, killing two persons. The administration's order is based on the structural audit report by experts from IIT Delhi, which pointed to structural deficiencies in the building. The audit report of two more residential towers in Chintels Paradiso is awaited, though the expert committee has recommended that these towers in which cases of sagging balconies and distressed floors have been reported, should be vacated.

The Supertech and Chintels cases have left hundreds of homebuyers in the lurch. The plight of the home buyers becomes worse when government agencies take them for a ride. In the case of Supertech’s twin tower demolition, the Supreme Court brought out the collusion between Noida authority officials and the developers, and on the basis of this, the vigilance department of Uttar Pradesh government registered an FIR against 26 Noida Authority officials, including two former CEOs for colluding with Supertech executives to facilitate the construction of two towers and in return received undue financial gain from the developer. In Gurugram, the Municipal Corporation indicted three officials of the fire department for irregularities, on the basis of a complaint by the residents of Orris Aster Court in Sector 85 Gurugram. The said officials allegedly took Rs 15 lakh bribe to certify five residential towers as safe.

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Vinod Behl

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Talking of malpractices by government agencies, even PSU developers are breaching the faith of home buyers. The central government recently issued chargesheets to officials of PSU developer National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), in a case related to its Greenview housing project in Gurugram that has been declared unsafe for habitation by structural experts. Experts from IIT Delhi, Central Building Research Institute and IIT Roorkee have recommended the complex be vacated. The matter even rocked the Parliament. The residents of the society who have vacated it, find them in the lurch as the settlement plan with regard to refund is still in limbo.

These high-profile cases have thrown the spotlight on the plight of lakhs of home buyers who are deprived of basic facilities like roads, drinking water, power, drainage, sewerage facilities, parks, and playgrounds. Recently, Gurugram RERA came to the rescue of the residents of Ansal Esencia in Sector 67 Gurgaon, directing the developer to complete the deficient infra, including water storage tank, sewerage treatment plant, drainage and sewerage system. There are times when the land meant for public utility services is converted to some other use by the developers for their own benefit. New Gurugram is a classic example of this infrastructural mess where residents are deprived of these facilities even years after occupying their houses. Home buyers are suffering because of disputes between the developers and the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and between developers and authorities. In a classic case, a community centre built in 2012 in a private licensed colony in Gurugram is still not operational because of a dispute between the developer and the RWA. There are also cases of encroachments in common areas like parks and other open green areas for public use, besides misuse of land meant for public facilities. And then there are disputes between the developers and residents over maintenance charges, adversely impacting the quality of living.

Lack of connectivity is one of the major problems faced by the residents of several societies developed in the new sectors of Gurgaon. The residents of several group housing societies in Sector 78 and 79 are at loggerheads with the authorities over their failure to complete the construction of a master road connecting Sector 79 to Southern Peripheral Road in four years. The residents of another society in Sector 77 have been facing the problem of their residential society not connected with the main sector road and the national highway. Interestingly, in many residential societies, no land is available for building connecting roads. The perennially broken roads further add to the woes of the residents. How serious is the road connectivity problem can be gauged from the fact that Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) needs 537 acres of land to complete road projects under Gurugram-Manesar Urban Complex Master Plan 2031. Now some relief is in sight as GMDA plans to acquire 142 acres of land at a cost of Rs 1,420 crore to build sector and service roads in developing sectors.

A large number of residential societies in developing sectors are without tap water connections. As such they have to depend on water tankers and ground water for their daily needs. Deficient power infra is the biggest bane of residents. In a large number of group housing societies in developing areas (Sector 58- 115), residents have temporary power connections with insufficient load, resulting in erratic power supply and power disruptions. Since there is inadequate power infrastructure, the power connections cannot be upgraded. The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the need for over 40 substations in new sectors. Non-availability of land is a major hurdle. In view of this, most of the societies are depending on gensets for power, paying two to three times the normal power tariff for back-up power. The residents of Vatika City have been without a 33kv power substation for the last decade. The lack of sewerage and drainage facilities is further adding to the unhygienic living conditions. The sewer flows in the open in some colonies and in the absence of drainage, the condition further deteriorates during rains. In some blocks of Sushant Lok 3, developed about two decades back, there is no sewer connection with the main sewer line. In the case of individual builder floors, there is a big issue of who will inspect sewerage and drainage facilities to provide occupation certificates (OC).

The External Development Charges (EDC) imbroglio is contributing significantly to the infrastructure mess. Home buyers have become pawns in the tug of war between authorities and developers over EDC. As many as 16 Gurugram developers owe Rs 300 crore to the Department of Town and Country Planning as EDC. The infrastructure development is suffering either due to non-payment of EDC charges by the developers or authorities not providing required infrastructure even after receiving EDC, due to some dispute with the developer. Frustrated over this state of affairs, some RWAs are taking upon themselves to develop required infrastructure. For instance, the RWA of Unitech Escape on Golf Course Extension Road, Gurugram, is constructing roads and a swimming pool.

There are larger implications of the Supertech and Chintels episodes. In the Supertech case, the home owners are waiting relief as SC had directed the developer to provide a timeline for refund of money to them by October 2022. In the Chintels case, the Gurugram administration has asked the developer to demolish the tower and finalise the settlement plan for home owners by mid-2023. There is a hidden benefit of these episodes in bringing the all-important issue of taking policy measures to check the post-possession woes of home buyers. Gurgaon authorities are now carrying out a structural audit of 16 high-rises by experts, taking into consideration damage to slabs, defective columns and beams, etc. On the basis of this expert report, remedial measures will be taken. The Noida Authority on its part has approved new safety guidelines for residential high-rises. Now onwards, before issuing occupancy certificates to a ready building, an expert agency will examine the safety of the structure and also fix the onus on the stakeholders for the building's safety. In a related move, Uttar Pradesh government is working on a new township policy aimed at safeguarding the interests of different stakeholders, including home buyers.

But on a larger scale, we need to ensure that urban development policies are streamlined and development bodies in states, along with regulatory bodies like the department of town planning and RERA, play a more effective role in providing fair deal to property buyers, not only ensuring timely delivery of homes but also saving them from post-possession pitfalls.