The Bangalore Development Authority, usually flooded with applications seeking allotment of sites, is now receiving requests of a different kind -- seeking refund of the deposit paid for allotment of houses.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a BDA official said that they received more than 5,000 applications in the last three years, requesting cancellation of house allotment and refund of the deposit money. In 2013 alone, the BDA received around 2,800 such applications. Of these, an estimated 1,400 were for refund of money paid towards the allotment of one-BHK flats. In the last one month, the authority received more than 80 requests.
These figures are the highest in the last two years. In 2012, the BDA received around 1,500 applications requesting refunds, preceeded by 1,300 applications in 2011. So far, however, only 400 applicants have received their initial deposits.
“People give two major reasons while seeking cancellation of their allotment — either the cost of the house is too high or the quality of construction is poor. Some even say that they would prefer a loan of a few more lakhs to buy a two-bedroom house, instead of a single-BHK house,” the official said.
Last year, the BDA revised the price for a one-BHK flat to Rs 7.5 lakh from Rs five lakh. When the project was mooted, the BDA had hoped to obtain JnNURM funds, which could have reduced the price of the houses. When this did not happen, the entire cost of construction was borne by the BDA, increasing the price of flats.
Additional funds
“Citizens, especially those from the economically weaker segment of society, are unable to arrange additional funds to purchase the flats. So they resort to cancelling their allotment. Some also point to lack of facilities such as Cauvery water and electricity connections, forcing them to ask for refunds,” the official added.
The official pointed that the refund amount varies from Rs 60,000 to Rs 3.25 lakh. Some people who have booked two- BHK homes are also keen to cancel their allotment.
However, BDA Commissioner T Sham Bhat said that though they have been receiving applications asking for refunds, the numbers were not high.
Apartment construction
The BDA has started construction of 6,180 apartments across 17 sites in Nandini Layout, Alur on Tumkur Road, Malagala in Nagarabhavi, Halagevaderahalli in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Kothanur and Thippasandra in Anjanapura, JP Nagar 9th phase, Kanaminike on Mysore Road, Doddabanahalli on Old Madras Road (two), Gunjur on Varthur Road (two), Vishveshwaraiah Layout (two) and three in Kengeri.