BJP MP Vijay Goel on July 25 demanded death penalty to the builders who cheat gullible home buyers of their hard-earned money as he said "the crime is no less than rape".
Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, he talked about the woes of lakhs of home buyers in the Delhi-NCR region who have been cheated by fraudulent builders.
Stating that the fraud is akin to "rape of the middle class", Goel demanded stringent action as good as capital punishment for the builders who deliberately cheat the home buyers.
His assertion comes close on the heels of the recent Supreme Court verdict cancelling the registration of Amrapali group under the real estate law RERA for duping over 42,000 home buyers. It also directed the state-run National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) to complete the stalled projects of the realtor.
"Builders have deliberately cheated and defrauded the middle class (home buyers). They should be given death penalty because their crime is no less than rape," Goel said.
The former Union minister said several countries like China, Vietnam and Thailand maintain a policy of capital punishment for similar categories of white-collar crimes.
He said besides the Amarpali group, there are hundreds of builders who have cheated the middle class.
"I do not know from where the NBCC will bring money. I want to know if the government will take over the rest of the projects through NBCC," Goel said.
He also alleged that several builders are yet to register with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and flat buyers are facing a double whammy of paying EMIs on home loans and rent of their current homes.
Home buyers should have the first right of dues after the liquidation of property and inventory, he demanded.
Goel said besides fraud developers, celebrities and ambassadors who are also the stakeholders in housing projects should be held accountable for promoting false advertisements, if the products or services they endorse turn out to be fraudulent.
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