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COMMONWEALTH GAMES VILLAGE – At last, a completion certificate!
COMMONWEALTH GAMES VILLAGE – At last, a completion certificate!
As DDA gives a completion certificate for a vacant tower in the CWG Village, home buyers finally see light at the end of the tunnel
A fter several months of agonising wait and a legal battle, the Commonwealth Games Village home owners have finally something to cheer about.
In a recent development that marks the end of the logjam between private developer Emaar MGF and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the latter has initiated the process of awarding completion certificates to some CWG Village towers. This will enable buyers to get possession of their flats soon.
Confirming the move, MZ Bawa, director (building) of DDA, said, “We have given the completion certificate to one tower T-1 out of all 34 and the process to check the structural and design aspects of other towers is underway. There are around 2000 designs of the village which involve thorough scrutiny.“
DDA sources also admit that the method adopted by DDA to give the certificates could lead to another round of legal battles for some of the buyers.
“Out of 34, we have decided to give the certificates to 28 towers. The fate of four towers will depend on the developer Emaar MGF paying our dues of R20 cr. We will not let the developer get away with the FAR violation without penalising it as necessary.
As far as the remaining two towers (T-5 and T-15) are concerned, we will wait for the decision of the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD),“ says a senior DDA officer, requesting anonymity.
There are 1168 flats in a total of 34 towers at the CWG Village. DDA exclusively owns 11 towers that are lying vacant. Six towers are in the possession of Emaar MGF that has sold flats to private buyers.
The remaining 17 towers have flats belonging to both DDA and Emaar MGF.
When the fate of dozens of buyers of the towers T-5 and T-15 hangs in balance due to the indecisiveness of the MoUD, DDA’s selective grant of completion certificate has drawn flak from people who feel their money is stuck in the project.
Disgruntled buyer Rohit Gulati, says, “In case the FAR issue is still not resolved, it would be unfortunate if DDA tries to block completion certificate to four towers that have already been sold to buyers like us. What if my flat is in one of the four disputed towers,“ he asks.
Gulati urges DDA to take the “necessary action against the builder instead of blocking the completion certificate to the towers.
If the developer delays
payment of dues, innocent buyers like me will suffer.“
Says Vishal Kapoor, another buyer, “we bought the flats three to four years ago and hope that all the towers that have been sold out will be issued a completion certificate first, as we are incurring huge losses for each day of delay. We have been caught in the cross-fire between the DDA and the builder. We have full faith in the court and hope to get justice soon.“
Speaking on DDA’s selection methods and preference of towers for scrutiny, Captain Ranjan Mukherjee, OSD to Lt Governor Tajinder Khanna, says “Except for T5 and T-15, the inspection of all other towers has been going on according to their serial numbers.“ DDA officials, however, are tightlipped about the time period within which the 27 other towers will get the certificate.
Says Bawa, “We can’t commit under what timeframe we will finish the process. It’s a huge project and there are many aspects which need detailed examinations. At the same time, it also depends on the developer to satisfy our queries which come up during the process of scrutiny.“
Another buyer Anuj Puri, who is also chairman and managing director, Jones Lang La Salle, points out that since the project was completed long ago, he should have ideally been given possession then. “I don’t know where the fault lies. Projects do get delayed in India and even though this one wasn’t, I still did not get delivery on time. I did not get the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of its timely delivery. I hope things will get sorted quickly,“ he says.
Buyers who are happy with the completion certificate are all praise for what they say is the “LG’s intervention and the Delhi High Court’s strict stand against DDA, due to which, the whole issue has made some progress.“
Shalabh Tandon, a banker, says, “The High Court is very concerned about over the plight of the buyers, especially those who are in towers 5 and 15.“
In fact, on January 19, 2011, the Delhi High Court has recorded in its order the submission by DDA’s lawyer who said that DDA would keep Towers No 26 and 28, which are lying unencumbered, aside for accommodating the purchasers who have been allotted flats in Towers No 5 and 15 by Emaar MGF if such a contingency arises.
“It is shocking that even after the high court directions, the decision-making by DDA and government officials is extremely slow. DDA itself owns more than 700 flats and there is R3000 crore of taxpayer money locked up in these flats. Despite significant carrying cost and loss, we are surprised that completion certificates have still not been given,“ Tandon adds.
Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2012/02/18/ArticleHtmls/COMMONWEALTH-GAMES-VILLAGE-At-last-a-completion-certificate-18022012223005.shtml?Mode=1
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