Plaint against builder over fake NoC from BWSSB

The residents of Ozone Evergreens, an apartment complex located on Haralur Road off Sarjapura Road, have filed a complaint with the Adugodi police against the builders - Ozone Shelters Pvt Ltd - alleging that the company misled them by furnishing a fake no objection certificate (NoC) number of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board and assuring them of Cauvery water supply.

The residents have alleged that the builders of Ozone Evergreens, an 18-floor apartment with eight blocks - collected Rs one lakh each from 900 residents in 2011. When a resident filed an RTI application to find out the details of NoC issued by the BWSSB, it came to light that the board had not issued any certificate under the number provided by the builder. The residents alleged that though the builders collected Rs nine crore from them, they had not paid a single rupee to the water board.

Ozone Evergreens is located in the area newly added to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike limits. The location does not have any infrastructure in place to provide either water or sanitation facilities. The residents have alleged that the builders had refused to pay them compensation for delaying the construction.

The officials in the BWSSB said that they had no information on issuing NoC to Ozone Evergreens. The builders were not available for clarification.

Relief from forum

Meanwhile, the consumer forum has directed the Keystone Constructions and Ozone Shelters Private Limited to pay interest at 10 per cent per annum on Rs 24.25 lakh for five months for the deficiency in service to a buyer of an apartment from the builder.

Sources said that the forum ordered payment of compensation to Raman Singh, a resident of Marathahalli, from September 1, 2011 to January 10, 2012. The forum ordered that the builder shall be liable to pay interest at 10 per cent per annum on Rs 26.9 lakh from January 10, 2012 to the actual delivery of possession of the apartment. The forum directed the builder to pay Rs 10,000 to the complainant as costs.

The builder allegedly could not complete the project within the stipulated time and hand over the apartment to the owner, despite collecting money, said sources.