HC relief to buyers in sectors 58-63, 65-67, to get possession

Coming to the rescue of buyers, the Punjab and Haryana high court directed the Haryana government to release the occupancy certificates for the housing projects in these sectors as expeditiously as possible.

There is some good news for homebuyers in Gurugram who could not get the possession of their residential units due to the ongoing CBI investigation into the land acquisition in Sectors 58 to 63 and 65 to 67.

Quoting the Supreme Court orders in the Manesar land release case, the high court said the apex court orders recorded an acute concern for the flat owners. (Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

Coming to the rescue of buyers, the Punjab and Haryana high court directed the Haryana government to release the occupancy certificates for the housing projects in these sectors as expeditiously as possible. The division bench of justice Mahesh Grover and justice Lalit Batra said it should be done within six weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.

THE SNAG

The Supreme Court had in November 2017 ordered a CBI probe into the acquisition of about 1,407 acres and subsequent release of about 95% land in 2009. The land parcels were spread over Nagli Umarpur, Tigra, Ullhawas, Kadarpur, Maidawas, Badshahpur, Behrampur and Ghata villages. Taking the CBI investigation into the release of land in Manesar into consideration, the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition, had ordered a CBI probe into the acquisition and release process.

REFUSAL OF STATE GOVT

Later, when the real-estate developers sought grant of occupation certificates for the residential units and flats built on the land under probe, the state government refused to entertain their pleas on the grounds that since the matter was being looked into by the CBI, they were justified in not releasing the occupation certificates.

The advocate general office in its advice to the state government had also said that either the department of town and country planning should wait for the completion of the CBI investigations within six months or it may seek the express permission from the SC for processing any application by landowners in these sectors.

APEX COURT’S CONCERN

Quoting the Supreme Court orders in the Manesar land release case, the high court said the apex court orders recorded an acute concern for the flat owners. “The SC has observed that allottees who have already paid almost 95% of the amount for their flats cannot be made to suffer,” the HC said.