GURUGRAM: The Supreme Court has asked Haryana govt to furnish details of affordable housing projects for which it issued licences in past 10 years.
The court was hearing petitions filed by buyers who have invested around Rs 160 crore in Mahira Homes in Sector 103 – a project that has been stalled for almost two years and a half.
In the order dated July 22, the apex court not only asked the town and country planning department (DTCP) about licences issued for affordable housing in the past decade, but also sought information on the estimated cost of flats at the time they were launched and the tripartite agreement between builders, homebuyers and banks.
It also asked the department for details of project layouts that were approved by it and the number of times building plans were tweaked. The court asked about the number of projects that were ready and the homebuyers who had been handed flats.
The state govt will also have to inform the SC about the mechanism adopted by it to monitor the progress of these housing projects and the quality of materials used. The govt must tell the court about action taken by it if any builder was found to have violated the norms.
The principal secretary of the department will have to submit all these details within four weeks. The next hearing is slated for Sept 27.
On March 4 this year, 96 homebuyers had approached the SC allegedly after not getting any satisfactory response regarding the delay in their flats from the DTCP and the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (H-Rera).
Launched in 2019, Mahira Homes has around 800 flats in it. Despite paying up Rs 160 crore, buyers said only 15% of the project was completed and no construction had taken place for more than two years.
On July 22, the apex court reviewed affidavits filed by H-Rera and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing allegations of diversion of funds by the developers.
According to these affidavits, 73 licences were issued under the affordable housing policy in Gurgaon, many of them for Mahira Homes in sectors 63A, 68, 90, 103, and 104. None of these projects has seen any construction of late.
The court has also asked the ED to file another affidavit regarding the registration of ECIR (enforcement case information report) against developers of other affordable projects too. These include FIRs lodged against them under relevant sections on complaints by buyers and other agencies.
H-Rera chairperson Arun Kumar denied the allegation that buyers’ complaints were ignored. “We did everything we could in keeping with the Rera Act of 2016. But now, it’s the DTCP that has to take further action according to Section 8 of the Rera Act and Rule 19 of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Rules ,1976,” he added.
Section 8 of the Rera Act says “after revocation of registration of the project, the Authority may consult the appropriate government for carrying out the remaining works by the Competent Authority”. Calls and messages to senior DTCP officials did not elicit any response on Sunday evening.
