New Delhi, December 27: Twelve years after an applicant for a DDA flat was wrongly allotted a plot in an area that he had not applied for, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has finally paid up the interest on the deposit due to him.
With the court questioning how the DDA calculated the rate of interest as simple instead of compound rate, as specified by the law, the case may serve as a precedent for all DDA allottees who have not received their due refunds.
Under the existing DDA Act, Lal was to have been paid the original deposit of Rs 10,000 as well as interest on the deposit, calculated at compound rates of 7 per cent per annum. However, DDA told the Indian Airlines official that the interest would be calculated as simple interest of 7 per cent. The applicant approached the North District Consumer Forum, which ruled next year that DDA was undoubtedly in the wrong, and that the full deposit amount with compound interest “as per rules” was to be paid forthwith along with compensation “for mental harassment”.
Appealing against the verdict, the DDA went to the State Commission, seeking exemption from paying interest at compound rates, citing Clause 2.3 of the application brochure which specified terms and conditions for allotment of flats. The State Commission finally came out with its verdict in February last year, dismissing the DDA’s appeal, and declaring that it could not be exempted in such circumstances from paying the interest rate.
Lal returned to the North District Forum, which however wrote off the interest calculated by the DDA as being satisfactory. This time, Lal approached the State Commission, seeking his legitimate interest amount, which by now had stretched over more than a decade. The State Commission redirected the matter to the North District Forum, directing the latter to go through the calculations once again.
During hearing, the Forum underlined the difference between the interest amount calculated by the DDA and that by Lal.
“It appears”, the Forum said in its recent judgment, “some sort of injustice has been done to the complainant while calculating the total amount of interest”.
In the allotment letter given to Lal by the DDA in 1994, the Forum said, the interest on the deposit over the past 12 years had been shown as Rs 11,948, whereas DDA later claimed this amount to have been Rs 8,618. “It’s not understandable as to why there is such a huge difference in the amount,” the court remarked, directing the DDA to pay the difference, which had accrued over the years, and to comply within two months.Labels: DDA Dwarka