E-Paper
Mohali’s Pancham Society: GMADA to take over 448 flats ending allottees’ 16-year wait
Pending land dues have to be cleared by each allottee at Mohali’s Pancham Society — with the amount ranging from ₹1.44 lakh to ₹3.59 lakh per unit depending upon the size of the flat
In a major relief for around 448 flat allottees of the Pancham Cooperative Society in Sector 68, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) is finally set to take over 448 flats and the allottees will get the ownership rights after a near-16-year-long wait.
Pending land dues to the tune of ₹15 crore will, however, have to be cleared by each allottee — with the amount ranging from ₹1.44 lakh to ₹3.59 lakh per unit depending upon the size of the flat.
The residential society is currently under the administrator, assistant registrar Dera Bassi, but going forward, GMADA is expected to deal with the individual members directly and give them the no-dues certificates after the outstanding amount is paid. The society’s resident welfare association will act as the interface between the members and GMADA.
Speaking of the same, a senior officer of GMADA said the draft to take over the society was ready and the process will be completed soon.
Checkered past
Notably, the owners were earlier not authorised to sell the flats, given that they did not have the proper ownership rights. GMADA had allotted the land to the society in 2000 and possession of flats was given in January 2006.
At the time of handing over possession, the members were asked to pay an additional amount of ₹1.15 lakh for the high-income group (HIG) flats and ₹72,000 for the HIG super. The allottees paid the amount to the builder, who was in turn expected to pay the sum to GMADA, but failed to do so. As a result, the ownership rights were withheld.
As per records, Pancham Society was to pay ₹4.49 crore as land dues to GMADA in 2005. With the addition of interest, the figure rose to ₹7.79 crore in October 2006 and is now estimated to be around ₹14 crore.
In 2012, GMADA had issued a public notice regarding resuming land allotted to the Pancham Society, and in the same year, 225 members filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana high court against GMADA, the registrar of the society and secretary housing. In 2019, the court ordered the registrar that recoveries be made from all those found guilty in various inquiries.
Vineet Malik, area councillor, said since the 2017 inquiry found that all .members had paid the land cost, along with interest, to the society before possession back in 2006, they were not at fault.
“Charging any amount again from members is injustice and double jeopardy, though not guilty. For our future peace of mind, we were expecting that GMADA will settle the issue with the outstanding principal amount only by waiving off any interest in the larger public interest of 448 allottee families, but we have not received any intimation for taking over the society,” he said.
