Gurgaon: Over a decade after a couple booked a residential floor in a project in Sector 67, they are yet to receive possession.On Aug 14, Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRera) directed Ansal Phalak Infrastructure to pay delayed possession interest at 10.8% per annum to the homebuyers, who had booked the flat in Esencia.As per the agreement, the developer was to complete construction within 36 months, with a further six-month grace period, fixing the due date of possession at Feb 21, 2016.The complainants — Samir and Suman Chitkara — had booked unit D1561SF, Sovereign Floors, measuring 1,572 sqft, for a total sale consideration of over Rs 1.2 crore under a buyer’s agreement executed on Aug 21, 2012.Rera chairman Arun Kumar directed the promoter to pay accrued interest for delay from Feb 21, 2016 till a valid offer of possession, with arrears cleared within 90 days and subsequent monthly interest paid before the 10th of each following month, per Rule 16(2).The developer was directed to offer possession within 30 days of obtaining the occupation certificate (OC) and execute the conveyance deed under Section 17(1), while being barred from levying any holding charges, in line with Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in the Capital Green case.Rera held the promoter in contravention of Section 11(4)(a) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, for failing to hand over possession within the stipulated timeline.More than a decade later, the project has neither secured an OC nor been offered for possession, HRera noted, effectively treating it as an ongoing project subject to Rera provisions.The complainants alleged they had paid Rs 1,04,86,215 towards the unit, though payment receipts on record reflected Rs 24,69,412.They also accused the developer of raising premature payment demands, ignoring repeated requests for possession, and, despite being “an affluent and influential player in the real estate sector,” failing to respond to their grievances — allegations that went unrebutted after Ansal Phalak chose not to contest the complaint on merits, with its counsel filing only a memo of appearance following an ex parte order dated Aug 22, 2025.Invoking the proviso to Section 18(1) read with Rule 15 of Haryana RERA Rules, Authority computed the prescribed interest rate as State Bank of India’s marginal cost of lending rate (8.80% as of Aug 14, 2026) plus 2%, arriving at 10.80% per annum — the same rate applicable to allottees in case of payment default under Section 2(za) of the Act.Claims for litigation costs and compensation for harassment were left to be adjudicated separately by the adjudicating officer, per SC’s 2021 ruling in Newtech Promoters and Developers v. State of UP, which vests exclusive jurisdiction over such compensation claims in that forum under Sections 71 and 72 of the Act.
