Bengaluru
In a major relief for site allottees in the Kempegowda Layout who were charged exorbitant rates of interest by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for the delay in making full payments for their allotted sites, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) court ordered it to refund a major chunk of it.
According to Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout Open Forum members, the BDA has been told to charge an interest rate equivalent to that charged by the State Bank of India plus 2 percentage points. “If those who are charged any higher rate of interest file a complaint with RERA, the BDA will have to reimburse the interest collected above this figure,” said a senior member. The court also agreed to the BDA’s deadline of December 31, 2021 to put in place all infrastructure in the layout.
A total of 10,000 allottees had been allotted sites in the layout in two phases with the original deadline for development of layout being March 31, 2018. “For delayed payments, the allottees were made to pay an interest rate of 18 per cent per annum for the first 30 days beyond May1, 2017, and 21 per cent annually for any period beyond that. Now, RERA has directed it to return the higher interest to the allottees,” he explained adding that the BDA has been directed to amend its rule to facilitate the payment.
Meanwhile, the KG Layout project has been brought under RERA despite a stiff resistance from the BDA. It sought three more years to complete the work and the RERA court approved the extension, another member said.
RERA also asked the BDA to hold regular monthly meetings with the Forum so that they are kept in the loop about regular improvements effected in their layout. The BDA Commissioner has agreed to meet RERA members on Saturday, said AS Surya Kiran of the Forum.