Grievances against builders top the list in consumer fora

Those fleeced by builders top the list of litigants knocking on the doors of the consumer courts in the city. The trend is evident from the statistics obtained from the two consumer courts in the city: Pune District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (PDCDRF) and the
Additional Pune District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum.

Statistics covering the period from 1994 to February 2013 say that of the 22,204 cases filed in the forums, 5,196 cases pertained to housing related issues.

Luckily, the disposal rate seems to be high as a large majority i.e. 4,674 cases were disposed of while 522 cases are pending. Of the total 22,204 cases, 20,391 cases were disposed of and 2,818 cases are pending in the two forums. While 5,196 cases pertain to issues concerning housing and builders, grouses against insurance companies came second with 2,052 cases of which 1,861 were disposed of and 191 cases pending. Of the 1,476 cases against banks, 1,337 are settled and 142 cases are pending. Complaints about electricity bills amounted to 1,276 of which 1,119 were disposed of and 57 pending.

The other cases concern medical bills or negligence, airlines, telephones, railways and those that do not fall under any of the above like automobile negligence, electronic equipment, garments, schools and colleges.

Advocate Dnyanraj Sant said, “Most of the cases in the consumer courts are related to housing. Most grievances pertain to late possession of flats, no conveyance deed, the flat shown in brochure or advertisement differs from the actual and amenities and other facilities not given. In most cases, the forum rules against the builder if the promise is not kept. But builders do go in appeal and again pendency increases. Shockingly, sometimes even after winning the case, people suffer. However, if the time frame lapses and the builder doesn’t follow the order, a case of contempt of court could be filed, for which the builder could undergo imprisonment too.”

There are several flaws in the working of these forums as well. Senior lawyer Anand Patwardhan, who is president of Consumer Court Advocates’ Association and former chairman of Consumer Guidance Society of India, said, “Earlier, the consumers had to file a civil or criminal case. But it was time consuming. The act was enacted in 1986 with the concept of Jago Grahak (Wake up, consumer), but now there are many unwanted technical errors brought in by the forums, which are unnecessary.

The complainant is disturbed as he has approached the forum for negligence in services, but there are lot of dos before filing the case. There are concepts like submitting postal order as per his compensation amount, writing the entire case on green paper including the respondent’s name, age, telephone number and email id. If anything is missing, his plaint is dismissed. The forum works according to convenience. If the complainant is absent, even at one hearing, his plaint is quashed.”

Suryakant Pathak, Pune district working president of Akhil Bhartiya Grahak Panchayat said that of 42 consumer forums in the state, only 13 are functioning. “Last year, both the Pune forums were vacant for nearly six months and most of the cases were compromised as the litigants had no other option. The appointments of president and members are mostly done by political lobbies,” he said, adding that while they have to meet every month, the meetings are held twice a year.

“While most city residents know about the existence of the forums and approach them, those in rural areas are unaware of their rights,” said Grahak Hitvardhini president Hardev Sahani.

@chaitralyD