Conflicting & confusing judgements leave societies, homebuyers in lurch

Q: I thank you for replying to my query in the last Consumer Connect (November 10), where you clarified that homebuyers in a redevelopment project cannot insist that the housing society accommodate them if the society has duly terminated the developer with whom they had executed the agreement for sale.

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Although you cited a couple of Bombay High Court judgments, the fact remains that homebuyers' money has gone into the redevelopment project, and, in fairness, the society should accommodate them in the same project. As a consumer organisation, what is the stand of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) on this issue, and how would MGP protect the genuine interests of such homebuyers who, through no fault of their own, are being unfairly penalised and deprived of their homes?

- Prakash Athavale, Dadar (West)

A:You are right that when a society terminates a developer in a redevelopment project for valid reasons, innocent homebuyers should neither be punished nor denied the flats they booked. MGP fully agrees with this view.