Gurgaon: New district town planner vows to address homebuyers’ issues

New district town planner RS Bhath said he would put a mechanism in place to ensure all public dealings are transparent

The Haryana government on Thursday formally appointed RS Bhath as the new district town planner, who has been asked to revive the Allottees Grievance Redressal Forum (AGRF). The forum has played a key role in resolving problems faced by apartment buyers.

Gurgaon’s new district town planner RS Bhath took charge on Friday.(HT PHOTO)

Apart from this, the district town planner will also focus on setting timelines and putting processes in place to ensure that official work and public dealings are carried out in a transparent manner.

The Allottees Grievance Redressal Forum was constituted by the state government in March 2016 and it comprised a seven member committee of senior officials from district administration, Haryana urban development authority (Huda), department of town and country planning (DTCP) and the police to hear complaints of homebuyers and taken necessary action.

“I have worked with the AGRF since inception and I will ensure that sub-committee of the AGRF is revived and is able to resolve homebuyers’ complaints on priority. We will also make sure that developers deliver on the promises made to homebuyers,” Bhath said.

On the implementation of RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Act), which is aimed at ensuring greater transparency and accountability in the real estate industry, Bhath said the town and planning department also has to adapt to the changing working conditions and demands of the system.

“We have fixed public dealing hours from 10.30 am to 1 pm daily and beyond that the visitors will have to seek permission from DTP or ATP. Employees have also been asked not to leave their office without informing the superiors,” Bhath said.

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The department officials will also hear allottees’ grievances from 5 to 7 pm on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The DTCP has also directed that a register will have to be maintained to know the movement of officials and field staff during working hours. “The objective is to ensure maximum work is done and the problems faced by the people are resolved,” Bhath said.