Deliver on time or face strict action. That was the tough message being sent out to developers by T L Satyaprakash, the deputy commissioner of Gurgaon. At today’s Allottees Grievance Redressal Forum, he minced no words as he called delays over 6 months a clear case of cheating.

“We will send recommendations asking for strong action against such builders. We will review the situation, get a count on the number of projects delayed by over 6 months and send our action to be taken report to the Department of Town and Country Planning headquarters,” a visibly peeved Satyaprakash told reporters after the marathon three-hour meeting.

Govt to Impose Harsh Punishments
The Deputy Commissioner also threatened to take punitive measures including attachment of assets and possible liquidation of bank guarantees, if promoters failed to stick to timelines, or got involved in acts that could qualify as cheating, such as increasing unit sizes without proper approvals.

The meeting room at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Gurgaon was packed to capacity as hundreds of aggrieved homebuyers petitioned a three-member committee comprising HUDA Administrator Hardeep Singh, District Town Planning officials Sanjay Kumar and Amir Bhatt, and Joint Commissioner of Police Kulwinder Singh, to resolve their problems. Cases involving DLF, Emaar MGF, Unitech, Adel Landmark, BPTP and Orchid Infrastructure Development were heard in today’s session with investors in Adel Landmark demanding that a mass F.I.R (First Information Report) be lodged against the company’s promoters. The promoters are already facing charges of licence cheating with a case pending before the Punjab & Haryana High Court. Facing mounting pressure from home buyers & investors – DLF, Emaar MGF and BPTP have given partial possession of units in some towers, which had been delayed by 3 to 5 years.

Gurgaon Admin Talks Tough
Out of the 16 cases taken up today, the majority related to delays in possession, licence cheating and cases where projects were given occupation certificates by the authorities, but without water, power supply and sewage connections.

The Deputy Commissioner extended all help and support to homebuyers, and went a step further by promising to back them if they approach the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in cases where promoters were found to be abusing their dominant position in Gurgaon market.

Oineetom Ojah, Special Correspondent, NDTV