Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) directed Omaxe New Chandigarh Developers Pvt Ltd to pay interest to homebuyers Naresh Garg and Anju Garg for delayed possession of their apartment in Caspean E tower of The Lake project, New Chandigarh.

Promised possession date: July 31, 2023. Buyers had paid more than 90% of sale consideration. Possession had not been delivered nearly three years after the promised date.

Buyers sought possession and interest for delayed period, arguing the project remained incomplete and no occupation certificate (OC) had been obtained.

Developer attributed delay to Covid-19 disruptions and delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, claiming good faith effort.

RERA Member-II Arunvir Vashista found the developer failed to deliver within agreed timeline and provided no definite completion timeline. Section 18 of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 grants allottees statutory right to receive interest for delayed possession.

Order: Omaxe must pay interest at rate prescribed under Punjab RERA Rules, 2017—highest marginal cost of lending rate (MCLR) plus two per cent—from July 31, 2023, until valid offer of possession is made after obtaining occupancy and completion certificates.

Chandigarh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Justice Raj Shekhar Attri, member Preetinder Singh) ruled that fit-out possession without statutory completion certificate cannot be treated as valid possession offer.

Case: Ludhiana doctors Pankaj Mahindra and Manisha Mahindra v Omaxe New Chandigarh Developers Pvt Ltd; unit in project "The Lake" at Mullanpur.

Complaints: Booked flat in 2015 under subvention scheme; contractual possession due March 2019; paid ₹68 lakh; construction remained incomplete for years; amenities unfinished; developer stopped paying pre-EMIs; developer issued fit-out possession letter March 2024.

Developer's defence: Paid ₹38.2 lakh under subvention scheme till offer of possession; occupation certificate obtained October 11, 2024; settlement deed June 14, 2024 settled all disputes.

Commission ruling: Fit-out permissions allow only internal works, not valid possession offer; completion certificate mandatory alongside occupation certificate; settlement deed cannot legitimise unlawful possession offer; developer in default as completion certificate still not obtained.

Orders: Developer must hand over physical possession within three months after completing all works and amenities and obtaining completion certificate; refund pre-EMIs paid by complainants from own pocket; continue 9% interest delay compensation for post-settlement period; pay ₹75,000 mental harassment; pay ₹35,000 litigation costs.

Omaxe Group said on December 2 that it repaid around ₹80 crore, including interest, on loans drawn from the government-backed SWAMIH fund for projects in New Chandigarh and Prayagraj. The fund sanctioned ₹168.80 crore for The Lake in New Chandigarh and ₹60.40 crore for Omaxe Shiva, Shiva 2 and Shiva 3 in Prayagraj; Omaxe drew only ₹70 crore in total. Construction is substantially complete across both developments, and the repayment came entirely from internal project cash flows.

The Lake is a premium group-housing development with a saleable area of 2,800,205 sq. ft. and 1,402 units. The three Prayagraj projects offer independent floors across 560,680 sq. ft. of saleable area, comprising 304 units.

Launched by the central government in November 2019, SWAMIH aims to help complete more than 1,500 stalled housing projects, covering 458,000 units nationwide. Funding is for RERA-registered projects with positive net worth, including projects declared NPAs or admitted to insolvency proceedings.