Glada fined for lack of service and unfair business practices

Ludhiana: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has penalised the chief administrator of Glada for deficiency in service and unfair trade practices after the authority failed to issue possession of a plot with a free title deed and basic amenities. Complainant Sushma Lata Bansal of Urban Estate Phase Two, Patiala, said she was allotted a residential plot measuring 95 sq m under the 80-20 freehold scheme through a draw of lots held on October 14, 2019. The provisional price of the plot was Rs 28,92,750, of which 25 per cent of the price amounting to Rs 7,23,188 was paid by the complainant within the stipulated period. The balance payment of 75 per cent was to be paid in six half-yearly instalments, starting from 1st May, 2021. As per the allotment letter, possession of the plot was to be handed over to the allottee within 90 days of issuance of the allotment letter, provided that 25 per cent of the provisional price was paid. If possession was not taken within the stipulated period, it would be deemed to have been handed over on the expiry of the said period. According to the complainant, the opposite party has failed to deliver full and actual possession and has not provided basic amenities like water supply, sewerage, roads and parking etc. The complainant has further stated that the opposite party has cheated her by allotting her a plot in Glada Estate, the legal title of which is defective and sub judice. The opposite party is also a respondent in the case pending before the Civil Judge (Junior Division), Ludhiana. On November 22, 2021, Justice Raj Mohan Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court disposed of the opposite party’s scheme and the stay has not been lifted till date. The opposite party was aware of this and intentionally allotted the plot, the complainant said, adding that it even started charging interest on the balance payment of 75%. The complainant said that the opposite party has violated the orders of the High Court by initiating a scheme and allotting plots without completing the development work on the site. On May 17, 2022, the complainant sent a letter to the Sole Arbitrator and Chief Administrator, Glada, Ludhiana, with a request to resolve the issue, but no response was received. Later, the complainant wrote a letter dated July 4, 2022 to the Chief Administrator, Glada, with a copy to the Chief Minister posted on July 16, 2022, with a demand for refund of Rs 7,81,043 with interest at 12% per annum, but there was no response. No representative of the opposite party appeared in the hearing before the commission, which said, “It is certain that there is concealment of material facts and gullible persons like the complainant were induced to spend their hard-earned money in the scheme and the opposite party resorted to false representations and fraudulent practices.” “The commission found it strange that the opposite party had issued a letter dated February 7, 2023, asking the complainant to file the original LoI (letter of intent), letter of award and payment receipts so that the refund of money could be initiated after deducting 10% of the consideration money. The commission observed that in the letter, the opposite party had not cited any rule or regulation which allows it to deduct 10% of the deposited amount. “It is a settled law that one cannot take advantage of one’s own wrongs. Thus, the claim for deduction of 10% is also illegal and cannot be enforced against the complainant,” the commission said.