RERA orders refund to buyer after 13-year delay in housing project in Jaipur’s Shivdaspura

Jaipur: More than a decade after booking a flat in a Jaipur-based housing project, a home buyer has secured relief from the Rajasthan Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), which has directed the developer to refund their payments with interest. The case concerned the delayed project located at Shivdaspura on Tonk Road.

According to the complaint filed by Padam Narayan and others under Section 31 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the buyers had initially booked Flat No. A-311 in February 2012. A provisional allotment letter was issued on May 4, 2012, but by 2014, they were allotted Flat No. B-301. The formal agreement to sell was signed only on Apr 26, 2016, nearly four years after the original booking. The agreement promised delivery of the flat by Apr 26, 2021.

The total sale value of the flat was Rs 25.13 lakh, of which Rs 20.58 lakh had already been paid by the complainant. Despite these payments, possession was never handed over. The buyer argued that Tower B, where their flat was located, remained incomplete. He also informed the RERA bench he was a government servant and had since moved to Delhi and no longer wished to take possession. Instead, he sought a full refund with interest.

The respondent builder stated that the initial project deadline was Mar 31, 2020, later extended to Feb 28, 2025 with due permission from RERA. The developer claimed that 92% of construction had been completed as of Mar 2023 and that they had acquired funding from the SWAMIH scheme to push the project forward. They also informed the Authority that completion certificates for Towers A and C were obtained in May 2022 and they were prepared to offer possession.

However, RERA noted that even after 13 years since the original provisional allotment and 8 years since the agreement to sell, the developer had failed to complete the project. The Authority pointed out that the project had now been declared “lapsed” and that the developer failed to give any firm timeline for completion during the hearing.

In its final order dated May 6, the RERA bench, presided over by Member Sudhir Kumar Sharma, directed Modest Infra Limited to refund the entire amount deposited by the complainant. The refund is to be made either from the company’s own sources or through loans from financial institutions. The developer was also ordered to pay interest at an annual rate of 11.10%, calculated from the date of each deposit until the refund is completed. The payment must be made within 45 days of the order being uploaded on RERA’s official portal.