Over 17 years ago, Bhavdeep Singh came to Gurugram from Bhiwani, Haryana, and started working at a legal firm. “I wanted to buy a house in Gurugram, and I invested my hard-earned money and even borrowed from friends and family to book a two-bedroom flat in ROF Ananda,” said Singh.

The builder had assured him that he will get possession of the flat in November 2021. Four years on, Singh who is an advocate by profession continues to wait to get the possession of his flat.

Singh is among thousands of buyers who have invested in housing and commercial projects in Gurugram, Noida and Greater Noida but are still waiting for possession of their property. The helplessness in getting possession of their own flats is further weakening their financial status as they have to leave work and stage a sit-in in front of the builder’s headquarters.

Singh, who is an advocate by profession, said, “I purchased a flat in the society after my name surfaced in a draw in 2018. I have made full payment but  the flat has not been handed over yet. What pains that the builder is now charging 15 per cent interest on the amount paid as the first installment citing payment delay as a reason.”

“The builder is charging the GST of 8 per cent on the full amount of flat; however the charge of the GST everywhere else is just 1 per cent. They are also charging for several other basic amenities such as Rs 52,000 for installing the electricity meter, Rs 30,000 for the IFUD (Interest for Utility Deposit) and Rs 15 per square feet for the labour cess. All these charges were not informed by the builder at the time of booking the flat,” he said.

“The builder assured us free maintenance for five years but now they are demanding Rs 3.25 per square feet. The condition of the flat is much deteriorated with damaged walls and the broken grills of the balcony,” he said.

Another buyer Neeraj Singh, who is an employee in the private company, said, “We have done the full payment of the flat but still they are charging a high interest on the whole amount of flat which is not written anywhere in the agreement.”

“We have tried to contact the agents and the builder who showed us the site and the plan of the society, but now they are not even picking up our calls. We have mailed several times but without getting any reply from them.” Singh said.

Similarly, Bhudev Sharma, who is also an accountant in the private company said he has also done the full payment of the flat, but still they (builder) is charging an amount of Rs 1,20,000 as an interest saying that the payment is not made on time.

Buyers who invested in the projects said they have been approaching the builders for the past four years, but to no avail. However, the builder in a written reply to The Pioneer said the allegations levelled by the buyers are “baseless”. “It is unfortunate that instead of appreciating the hard-work and efforts of the ROF Team during the difficult period of Covid-19 pandemic which has ensured timely delivery of apartments in this project, but we are getting such emails or statements raising baseless, unsubstantiated and immaterial issues,” he said.

 “All the charges being demanded are as per the application form or allotment letter which was duly informed to each and every customer. Some allottees, who have defaulted in making timely payments for their apartments, are asking for ‘Full Interest Waiver’ by taking a plea of non-levy of interest by the government and alleged delay in completion of construction in the project,” the builder told The Pioneer.

“Therefore, the demand for ‘Full Interest Waiver’ is not justified. However, to maintain long-term relationships with our customers, we are already considering requests for partial interest waiver on a case-to-case basis taking into account the difficulties and hardship being faced by our customers on account of Covid-19 pandemic,” the builder said in a statement.

 “We have incurred huge costs and expenses during this Covid-19 period for upkeep of our projects, safety, survival and migration of labourers to their native places and back to project site, escalation of material price and labour cost, etc. which resulted in substantial revenue loss to us but we never sought any compensation for our revenue loss,” the builder said.