Senior citizens have urged the government to initiate measures for effective implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act which seeks to protect home buyers.
At a press conference, secretary of the Senior Citizens’ Association Mothukuri Venkateswara Rao said many senior citizens were at the receiving end of the ‘lawlessness’ of a few builders who did not follow the rule book.
He said in a letter addressed to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the association members tried to draw his attention to the problem and seek his intervention.
“After bifurcation, the realtors are on the loose. Some of the builders have collected huge amount of money from hapless senior citizens and have not yet handed them their houses. We have taken a few such cases to the Police Department,” he said.
Mr. Venkateswara Rao said many old couples living alone here have paid their hard-earned lifelong savings towards advance of the housing units bought by them. But there was an inordinate delay in completion of the projects.
At some places, he said, a couple of senior citizens had died out of extreme tension while many others had taken ill.
‘Seven years wait’
Citing an example, he said builders G. Narayana Rao and V. Seetahalakshmi of a construction company called Bhanu Towers had made their clients wait for the last seven years. “We tried explaining to them the plight of the senior citizens who have paid them whatever money they had saved but there is no response from their side,” rued Mr. Venkateswara Rao, adding that the builders had collected of ₹7 crore from nearly 16 clients.
A senior citizen Chandra Rao said some of the builders had unleashed anarchy in Vijayawada city. Demanding effective implementation of RERA, he said arbitration committees should be formed to ensure justice to buyers.
The senior citizens in the district plan to stage a protest in May-end seeking immediate intervention of the government.
