Builder fined for frivolous plea

The National consumer forum has fined a builder from Navi Mumbai,Avdhut Construction a sum of Rs 30,000 for filing frivolous petition against the flat purchaser.
The buyer,Joy Konnukudi,will get possession of the flat along with 43,000 as compensation.
The buyer had agreed to buy a flat measuring 399 sq ft in a building for Rs 5 lakh.The buyer alleged that at the time of completion of the agreement,the builder demanded a further Rs.1 lakh in addition to the agreed amount.The builder failed to execute the sale deed.The buyer also learned that the builder had obtained a loan on the flat in the name of another person.
The builder did not attend the hearings on one pretext or the other and finally the consumer court passed an exparte order on aug 8.The builder was ordered to pay 20,400 in interest and 23,000 as compensation for mental harassment.
The builder filed a revision petition in the National Panel in 2010,but the court rejected it.

Related articles

• Builder fined for delaying flat posession (navimumbairealestate.org)
• Fresh trouble for Chavan on tainted Adarsh flat (dailymail.co.uk)
• Builder liable after taking token money (navimumbairealestate.org)

CIDCO officers caught in another Land Scam

A new land scam has come to light in CIDCO.Land officers in collusion with Lakshman Tandel,a farmer,forged documents to show that he was dead.,thereby getting a plot for each of his legal heirs under the 12.5% scheme of CIDCO.The plots were in Sector44,Seawoods.

The CIDCO officers are Anant Mathuram Dalvi (retired special land acquisition officer),Sheela Moreshwar Joshi (retired land survey officer from CIDCO),Ramesh Sonawane (current land survey officer,CIDCO),Dayanand Tandel (CIDCO clerk),the farmer Mr.Kunda,his wife,sons and married daughters.The case relates to the year 1989 and the case was registered in Belapur Police station.
Social activist Sandeep Thakur was the force behind this prosecution.

Ward officers to be responsible for illegal constructions in Navi Mumbai

The NMMC Commissioner,Mr.Bhaskar Wankhede has ratified a proposal to hold the ward officers responsible for illegal constructions in their respective wards.This change was notified via a gazette around 8 days ago.
It was noticed that despite complaints,the illegal constructions continued as the ward officers failed to followup on the notices served.Henceforth,all complaints about illegal constructions would be the responsibility of the ward officer.
Mr.Wankhede also submitted that the responsibility to clear the illegal constructions was that of CIDCO and that NMMC only plays a supporting role.

Sand Mafia to face MCOCA charge

River dredging

The blatant illegal sand mining in the creeks around Mumbai and its suburbs was the topic of heated debate between the opposition and the revenue department.Minister of state for revenue,Prakash Solanke announced that the people involved will face the stringent MCOCA.
Jitendra Avhad of the NCP had brought up the issue of mining in the Thane creek.He said that the blatant mining had put various bridges at risk.,often with the connivance of the Revenue officials.
Revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat claimed that more than 700 people had been arrested for sand mining.74 cases were registered in Thane alone.
Mr.Avhad claimed that dredging was being done at night with the connivance of police and revenue officials.

Related articles

• NALSA to move SC against sand mining (thehindu.com)
• Sand-mining sound the death knell for the Bharathapuzha (thehindu.com)

Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Bill-2012 passed

The long awaited \’tough\’ Maharashtra Housing Bill was finally passed by the Maharashtra Assembly on 16th July,2012.The law aims to plug the loopholes in the previous law, namely, Maharashtra Ownership of Flats act-1963.The new bill retains most of the contents of MOFA, but contains additional \’tough\’ provisions.
A joint select committee had submitted a report last week, recommending 26 amendments to the originally conceived bill after a public uproar over the \’mild\’ provisions in the earlier draft. After a lot of opposition from the public, the committee was forced to accept the changes as suggested by the people who have been at the receiving end since independence.

This law proposes for the first time…..

1. Formation of a regulatory authority for the housing sector.
2. Registration of all builders/developers with a 3 member regulatory authority headed by a retired govt official of the rank of Principal secretary.
3. Developers will have to post complete details of their project on the govt website.
4. Developers cannot sell 10% of the built up area until an occupancy certificate is obtained.
5. 60% of society members can come together and apply for deemed conveyance.
6. Developers have to seek the society members consent before modifying any plans and amenities.
7. Open spaces can be reserved only after getting local authorities permission.
8. Advertisements and brochures can only be issued after acquiring a registration code from the authority.
9. If developer fails to keep his commitments,flat buyers can approach the authority,which can impose a 10 lakh fine and a 3 year jail sentence.
10. Defect liability period of 5 years,during which he will be liable for any structural defects/exterior flaws like cracks etc.
11. Power to debar the builder and prevent him from taking up any new projects.
12. The authority will also decide in case the buyer defaults on payments.

The orders of the authority can be challenged before an appellate tribunal which will be headed by a retired high court judge.

Now for the bad news….

It will take another year for the full implementation of this law. It now goes to the president for her assent and after that it will take another 6 months to frame the \’business\’ rules.