Gurgaon: In one of the biggest such crackdowns on builders who have failed to pay homebuyers despite H-Rera orders, the district administration has launched a Rs 446-crore recovery drive against 71 developers and promoters, freezing their bank accounts and moving to attach their properties. In several cases, dues to buyers have remained unpaid for more than four years.The administration has issued notices to the defaulters and begun recovering the money through their bank accounts and assets. If these measures fail, it could invoke further powers under land revenue law, including arrest and detention proceedings, against defaulters.Among the biggest defaulters are Ansal Housing/Ansal Construction Housing, with Rs 91 crore pending, followed by Raheja (Rs 90 crore), Vatika (Rs 80 crore), Parsvnath (Rs 74 crore) and Ramprastha (Rs 57 crore). IREO owes around Rs 24 crore, while ILD Millennium has dues of about Rs 8.6 crore, according to the administration.The drive is being carried out under Section 40(1) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The provision allows amounts ordered by the real estate regulator to be recovered as arrears of land revenue. Haryana govt uses the recovery mechanism under the Punjab Land Revenue Act for this purpose.DC Uttam Singh said the focus was to ensure the money awarded by H-Rera actually reached homebuyers. “The regulatory authority does its part by penalising the builder. But so long as the recovery does not reach the homebuyer, the entire process remains toothless,” he added.Singh has asked SDMs and tehsildars to execute recoveries and report progress of the drive. The drive will be reviewed every week. Homebuyers holding recovery certificates can approach the district revenue officer, their SDM or tehsildar for updates.
