Given 3 Mths To Fix Defects

New Delhi: Pulling up Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for handing over a flat having structural defects, the national consumer court has asked the authority to pay Rs 3 lakh to the flat owner.

The court also directed DDA to fix the structural defects in three months. DDA shall restore the flat/structure allotted to the complainant to the physical condition it was in when the possession was offered to the complainant. Such rectification shall be done by DDA at its own cost, said D K Jain,president of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

The commission asked DDA to hand over the possession of the flat after fixing the defects while upholding the order of the state consumer court,which had granted the compensation to the owner for a delay of 17 years in getting the possession in a habitable condition.

Pramod Pal Singh had moved the state consumer court claiming that he was allotted an expandable house in 1995 by DDA in Sector 25 in Rohini Phase III for Rs 3,36,840. He alleged that DDAs brochure had claimed that the construction was complete and promised all basic amenities like water and sewage except electricity in some pockets. However, despite making several requests to the authority, the flats were not made habitable and he could not take possession, the complainant said.

After DDA moved the national commission, the consumer court appointed a lawyer to inspect the flat and it was found that the flat was in a bad condition. The report clearly brings out that the structure has plaster cracks in the front and some windows have no glasses. The kitchen, the electricity panel on the staircase, the toilet and the switch box have no wiring. Several doors have no knobs. The photographs show that the tiles are in a highly damaged state and external plaster is falling apart in several places, Jain said.

Singh also raised other issues about violation of norms of construction by a neighbouring allottee. The court, however, directed the complainant to approach the appropriate authority as it was not in its purview to deal with the issue.

It is evident that these issues fall within the statutory domain of the authorities concerned. They are not open to consideration in a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, alleging deficiency in the service rendered to the complainant. On other issues raised in the appeal, liberty is reserved for the complainant to seek appropriate remedy as per law, the national commission said.

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