Aero City, Mohali: Construction firm penalised for overcharging, told to refund Rs 11L
Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune news service
Chandigarh, June 2
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission here has directed a construction firm to refund Rs 11,95,370 to a city resident “received in excess” for the construction of a house.
The commission also directed the firm to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to complainant Mubarak Masih for causing him mental agony and harassment, and litigation cost.
The 75-year-old had approached the commission after he found the works carried out by the firm unsatisfactory.
The complainant said he had paid Rs 27 lakh to M/s Gautam Construction Company between August 10, 2018 and December 11, 2018 for construction of a residential house in Aero City, SAS Nagar, Mohali. However, when he asked for the bills, he got no response.
He then hired a professional to assess the work and on January 10, 2019, it was found that the value of completed works was just Rs16,77,629. Under such circumstances, Masih got the work stopped.
The complainant also claimed that the firm had failed to complete the construction as per the agreement dated September 19, 2018.
The construction firm in its reply said the complainant was liable to pay an amount of Rs62,84,800 for the area measuring 3,928 square feet at Rs1,600 per square feet. Since 60 per cent of the work was completed, an amount of Rs37,73,880 was payable by the complainant, the firm added.
The firm also claimed that the person who assessed the works was not an expert in the field.
The commission, meanwhile, appointed Kishanjit Singh, former Chief Engineer, UT, as local commissioner to assess the work independently.
It is evident from the report that though the material used is as per the required specifications, the value of the work which has been done at the site comes to Rs15,04,630 only, the commission noted. However, the construction company has already received Rs27 lakh from the complainant. The act clearly amounts to “unfair trade practice”, the commission observed.
It directed the firm to refund Rs 11,95,370 received in excess from the complainant, along with interest at 12 per cent within a period of 30 days.
