The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Builder directed to provide facilities

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Builder directed to provide facilities

Prabhakkar Sharma

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Visakhapatnam District Consumer Forum-I has directed a city builder to provide generators, revive the intercom system and make it functional, and furnish copies of the approved plans and drawings of the constructions made, electric and plumbing works, maintenance work, all within three months, besides payment of costs of Rs.10,000 to the flat owners' association.

According to the case record, Pavan Residency Flat Owners' Welfare Association on Simhachalam Road has 160 members who are flat owners of the flats in Prithvi, Varsha, Varun and Pavan blocks of Pavan Residency in Vepagunta.

President of the association Nuthakki Ravindranath lodged a complaint (183/2008) against Pavan Builders, represented by its proprietor P.V. Narasimha Rao, and also against the VUDA and the GVMC, pleading certain omissions and commissions by the builder termed as deficiency in service. He alleged the builder had collected Rs.12 lakhs as corpus fund, promising to transfer it to the association, but failed to do so.

Apart from that, Rs.4,200 had collected for each flat towards maintenance by the builder but the latter stopped maintenance of the common area from September 1, 2005. He also failed to keep the promise of providing separate generators for each of the four blocks and the intercom facility provided hardly worked only for a few days. Also, the builder had converted some of the common areas to staff rooms and guest rooms without approval of the competent authority, the complainant said.

Allegations denied

The builder in his counter denied the allegations and said that neither the sale deed nor the brochure provided separate generator for each block. The corpus fund was refunded to the flat owners with interest and association had no right to demand the construction drawings and designs as it construed intellectual property. However, he was ready to give the copies. As part of providing general facilities, some of the common space was given to department stores, doctor chambers, gym and laundry as per the brochure, he stated, and denied any violations in construction. President of the Forum-I N. Jagannadha Rao, and members G. Viswanatha Reddy and KVR Maheswari, who examined the evidence, in their recent verdict partly allowed the complaint, directing the builder to provide separate proper generator of adequate capacity to each of the four blocks not only for operation of lift, water pumps, illumination of common areas, but also to provide alternate power from the generator to two tube lights, two fans and one TV in each flat in the place earmarked for generator in the plans by re-conversion of shop room into generator room, within three months, failing which Rs.12 lakhs should be refunded at Rs. 7,500 per flat with nine per cent interest from March 24, 2008, the date of the complaint, till the date of payment.

They further directed the builder to get the intercom system already installed, revived and make functional or provide a new one at his own cost within 3 months or repay Rs.3.2 lakhs at Rs. 2,000 per flat with nine per cent interest, and also furnish copies of the approved plans and drawings of the constructions.

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