Hyderabad: The Hyderabad District Consumer Forum gave a senior citizen her home after an eight-year wait. The 75-year-old woman from LB Nagar had signed up for the construction of a home in Narsapuram, in West Godavari district, by the AP Housing Board. At the time of registration, in 2010, she had paid Rs 5.84 lakh and another Rs 3.2 lakh based on a demand made by the Board. The house was never registered in her name. She alleged that the money had wrongfully been collected from her.
Board representatives said the additional Rs 3.2 lakh was the interest due on late payments, and compensation for inflation in the cost of construction material. They said that it had been specified in the sale notification that the amount initially quoted was only tentative amount and that the final cost was likely to differ based on actual construction costs. The woman said that despite her having paid the additional amount, the house not registered in her name. She demanded compensation of Rs 2 lakh, and an additional Rs 1.2 lakh towards the loss of pay due to delays in the construction.
The Housing Board said that the complainant’s final payment of Rs 3,200 was pending. They added that the registration process had been initiated after the final payment was made, in April 2016. Meanwhile, the complainant had registered a case in the forum, which is why they had halted the registration process. The forum observed that the demand for additional payment was valid, as it had been mentioned to the complainant. However, it found the board’s action of delaying registration due to the pending payment of a paltry sum of Rs 3,200 to be unjust, considering that it had delayed construction and also demanded interest on late payments by the house owner.
The forum said, “The complainant who appeared before us is a senior citizen in the last leg of her life. She held a fond hope of possessing her own house. The act of the opposite parties in delaying registration of the house even after receiving the entire payment amounts to deficiency in service.” The Board was ordered to register the house in the complainant’s name and to pay her compensation of Rs 1 lakh.
