When An Allotted Mohali Plot Turns Out Unbuildable: Refund Or Alternative Plot जब आवंटित मोहाली प्लॉट बनाने योग्य न निकले: रिफंड या वैकल्पिक प्लॉट ਜਦੋਂ ਅਲਾਟ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਮੋਹਾਲੀ ਪਲਾਟ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਯੋਗ ਨਾ ਹੋਵੇ: ਰਿਫੰਡ ਜਾਂ ਵਿਕਲਪਿਕ ਪਲਾਟ

A plot allotted in a government scheme is meant to be ready to build on. Sometimes the authority later admits that a particular plot cannot be built on at all. A Chandigarh consumer commission order on a plot in PUDA's Gateway City scheme in Mohali shows how one forum treated that gap, and who could complain about it.

The Gateway City order

The Times of India reported on Thursday that District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission II in Chandigarh directed the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority to refund a buyer's money with interest. It also ordered compensation for harassment along with litigation costs.

The plot was in the Gateway City scheme in Mohali. According to the report, the buyer had acquired the allotment rights from an earlier allottee. PUDA later issued the allotment letter. On visiting the site, the buyer found the land unfit for construction and asked for a refund or another plot.

The report says PUDA admitted years later that the plot was unfeasible because it lay on marshy land. It then offered an alternative plot, which the buyer did not accept.

What the commission held

The commission found deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. The report says it noted that possession had been due within a fixed period from allotment and that PUDA had not shown the project was complete or fully cleared.

The order as quoted states: "It is settled law that collecting money from prospective buyers and selling plots/units in the project, without obtaining required licence/approvals/clearances/amended clearance is an unfair trade practice on the part of the project proponent."

The transferee point

PUDA argued that the buyer had bought the rights on their own, without its involvement. The commission rejected that plea, according to the report. Since PUDA had issued the allotment letter in the buyer's name, the buyer who came in through a transfer was treated as able to bring the complaint.

That matters in Mohali, where allotment rights in authority schemes often change hands before possession. In this case the forum did not let the transfer cut off the buyer's complaint.

Refund or alternative plot

An unfeasible plot leaves the authority with two broad answers. It can offer another plot in place of the one that cannot be used, or it can return the money. In Gateway City the authority made an offer of an alternative plot after admitting the problem. The buyer had asked for either and did not accept the plot offered. The commission ordered a refund with interest.

The report does not say whether the commission weighed the alternative offer as a ground to deny the refund. It does say PUDA relied on the buyer's refusal of that offer in its defence, and that the commission still ruled against PUDA.

What this order does and does not decide

This is one district commission order known through a press report. The order text was not available to us. PUDA can appeal. It does not settle what every buyer of an unfeasible plot is owed in a GMADA or PUDA scheme, and the terms of each scheme's brochure and allotment letter still apply.

It does show the facts that carried weight in this case. The authority had admitted the plot was unfeasible and possession was long overdue. The allotment letter was also in the buyer's own name.

Related reading

- No dues certificate for a GMADA plot transfer: what gets cleared
- When a Mohali builder ignores a consumer commission order: how enforcement works
- Offer of possession without occupancy and completion certificates: what counts

Sources: The sources we use are listed on our Editorial Sources page.

This piece describes one reported consumer commission order. Nothing here is legal advice, and any plot turns on its own scheme terms and papers.