Government offices to distribute affordable housing forms

GURUGRAM: For the first time, application forms for buying flats in privately developed societies under affordable housing scheme will be available from government offices. This was decided by Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (H-Rera) after it received complaints about malpractices during allotment of flats under the scheme.
Earlier, potential buyers of flats in affordable housing projects had to buy their application forms from the developer’s office. There were many complaints that this allowed the developer an opportunity to control the sale of forms, influence the draw against premium amounts, and allot flats to their friends and relatives, leaving genuine buyers frustrated.

Taking serious note of these complaints, H-Rera chairman K K Khandelwal on Tuesday directed the senior town planner to curb irregularities in the scheme and take penal action against developers found violating conditions of licence. “It has come to our notice that large-scale bungling and malpractices are being carried out by promoters of affordable housing, including charging hefty premiums as high as Rs 2.5 lakh per application, for confirming allotment of units. This is being made possible because promoter is issuing the same number of application forms as the number of units available, so that the applicant paying the premium is guaranteed an unit,” said Khandelwal.

The H-Rera panel said if forms are not given to other eligible applicants, the purpose of affordable housing is defeated. Therefore, applications should be made available at designated government offices, including those of the DTCP deputy commissioner, which will additionally ensure transparency in the system, they added. The authority also observed that the application fees were abnormally high, in some cases as much as Rs 25,000, which is unreasonable, adding it should not be more than Rs 1,000.

Also, advertisements for applications under affordable scheme don’t carry a closing date, and applications are accepted till the date of draw. The authority recommended that a closing date be mentioned, and in case applicants are fewer than the number of units available, put out a second advertisement after the draw to ensure left-over units are not sold at premium rates.

Moreover, H-Rera directed its senior town planner to ensure that developers don’t charge EDC (external development charges) and IDC (internal development charges) under the scheme. “Around 70 cases have come to light where developers had charged EDC/IDC from buyers. Afterwards, the authority had to directed the developers to refund the amount,” said an official.

‘Rs 330cr required for Greenopolis project’

H-Rera will decide whether the Greenpolis project will be completed by the developer or the government will take it over on Wednesday. Homebuyers had lodged a complaint against Orris Infrastructure and its partner 3C Company after work on the project was stopped. H-Rera chief K K Khandelwal said Rs 330 crore would be requiered to complete the construction.