The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (TNREAT) has directed Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) to register its project in Kancheepuram district under Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TNRERA).
The New Delhi-based AWHO, a registered society, provides structurally sound, economically viable and functionally efficient dwelling units to the desirous serving/retired members of the Army and their widows on ‘no profit no loss’ basis in select popular stations.
It purchased wet land and started constructing 852 dwelling units in 6 towers, each tower having 31 floors above ground level on Thazambur-DLF Link Road, Thazambur village, Chengalpattu taluk, Kancheepuram district.
The project commenced construction on May 26, 2012 and the probable completion date was December 2015.
The related amenities were fully self-financed and paid in advance by serving soldiers and retired persons of Army, Navy and Air Force.
Three allottees in the project, Colonel.C.M.Unnithan, Capt.Nagarajan Vasudeva Rao and Commander.N.Kooteswar moved the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (TNREAT) stating that common facilities like swimming pool, club house, sewage treatment plants, gymnasium are all still incomplete. Also, AWHO did not complete the project on or before June 22, 2017, they added.
AWHO had sought an exemption from registration under the RERA, for which the Principal Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Housing and Urban Development and Chairman, TNRERA in his letter dated November 13, 2017 found it was an ongoing project and directed it to register under RERA within 15 days, which has not been complied with, they pointed out.
In May, 2019, TNRERA passed an order that the project was structurally completed and exempted it from registration with the TNRERA.
The allottees said that the TNRERA did not provide an opportunity to present their case and it was against natural justice. AWHO said the project got delayed due to reasons such as Chennai floods of 2015, Cyclone Vardha in 2016, shortage of sand, transporters strike, shortage of labour etc which was beyond its control.
The Tribunal set aside the TNREA’s order, contending that no explanation was given for exempting the project from registration.
