By Staff Reporter
The Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (KRERA) has ruled that a developer and landowners of a Bengaluru-based project are jointly responsible for the project’s delay beyond the stipulated timeline of 2017. The Authority has ordered them to establish an association of allottees under the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act 1959 or Companies Act, with the entire cost of formation to be borne by the developer and landowners. This comes in response to a case brought by the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of the Chowriappa Constellation project, situated in north Bengaluru’s Hennur, which had scheduled completion by 2018 as per the construction agreement but remains unfinished.
The developer, Chowriappa Construction Pvt Ltd, has also started executing sales deeds for the project without obtaining the necessary occupancy certificates (OCs) or completing the project. The RWA alleged that the primary reasons for the project’s non-completion were the construction of unauthorized 13th and 14th floors and the diversion of funds collected from homebuyers. Additionally, the landowners, Cherian A Paul and his wife Saramma Cherian Paul, submitted letters to cancel the joint venture signed with the developer and the associated General Power of Attorney.
KRERA’s directive holds both the developer and landowners accountable for the project’s completion, citing Section 2 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act. The landowners have been collecting funds from homebuyers for apartment sales and managing common amenities in an incomplete project, thereby impeding the developer’s progress. The order emphasized that this practice is in violation of Section 4 and other provisions of the RERA Act, indicating that landowners also have a legal obligation to complete the project.
Both parties have been instructed to finalize the project, including amenities, within 60 days. Furthermore, the Authority has prohibited them from selling additional apartments or executing sales deeds until obtaining the necessary occupancy certificate.
The move aligns with the objective of the RERA Act to ensure transparency, accountability, and timely completion of real estate projects, benefiting homebuyers and safeguarding their interests.