BEFORE THE HON’BLE NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTE REDRESSAL
COMMISSION,
COMPLAINT
CASE NO:- /2008
IN
THE MATTER OF:-
SOCIETY
OF CATALYSTS
N-130,
NewDelhi-110017
COMPLAINANT
VERSUS
CHAIRMAN, Greater Noida INDUSTRIAL
DEVELOPMENT Authority
169, CHITWAN ESTATE, SECTOR GAMMA
gREATER
OPPOSITE
PARTY
COMPLAINT
UNDER SECTION 21 OF CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986
RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH:-
1) That the complaint is being filed under the
provisions of Sec 2 (b) (ii) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and that the
Hon’ble State Commission may allow the case to be filed before it since the
Complainant and both the opposite parties reside within its jurisdiction and
the cause of action has also arisen within its jurisdiction.
2) That the Complainant is a voluntary consumer
association consisting of former IAS officers, IIT alumni, eminent lawyers and
other well known public men. It is registered under the Society Registration
Act, 1860 vide Regn No S-30781 of 1997. A copy of the Certificate of
Registration is attached at Annexure 1. Amongst its objectives are the following:
1. To become a part of Consumer
Protection Movement for safeguarding the Rights of Consumers.
2. To propagate, process and participate
for Rights of Consumers under Consumer Protection Act and such as an NGO.
3. To take up the cases of Consumers in
various forums including Consumer Courts and bodies like ASCI, MRTP etc.
4. To liaise with other Consumer bodies
and Government Departments in furtherance of above said objectives.
5. To file Public Interest Litigation
(PIL) with various Courts for individual Consumers
3) That the
complaint is being filed on behalf of S/Sri Kamal Pande, Ex Cabinet Secretary, S
Sen, ex Joint Director, CBI, Ashok Nath, ex Chairman, Delhi Financial Corporation,
Chandra Mohan, Pr Secretary, Lt Gov, Delhi and 56 other residents of various
localities of Great Noida, as per list attached at Annexure 2. The letters of
authority of the persons are attached at Annexures 2-1 to
2-60 . The complaint is also being filed on behalf of and for the
benefit of numerous other consumers, known and unknown, having the same or
similar interest.
4) That the
said Society of Catalysts has authorized Sri Omesh Saigal, IAS (retd.), who is
a former Chief Secretary of
5) That the
Hon’ble National Commission has jurisdiction in the matter as the amount of
compensation claimed is more than Rs one crore and the OP is having its head
office in
6) That the
present complaint is being filed within the period prescribed u/s 17 of the
Act.
7) That the O.P has
been set up under UP Industrial Area Development Act 1976 with the objective
to acquire land and prepare the Master Plan for development of the Greater
Noida area of the National Capital Region. It is also charged with the
responsibility of demarcating and developing sites for various land uses and to
sell these properties at a price to various consumers. It also has to provide
infrastructure like power and water and other amenities in the areas developed
by it. As a part of its functions, it makes allotments of plots/properties for various land
uses such as industrial/ commercial/ institutional/ residential/group housing/
housing under various schemes advertised from time to time in various
newspapers, magazines, brochures etc. The procedure for allotment and
eligibility of the applicants are contained in the brochure of the schemes. The
OP also has a web site.
8) That over the last
one and a half decade of its existence, it has allotted various residential
plots for non commercial use, for group housing and individual housing, and
also built properties like flats. It has developed several sectors like Alpha
1, Alpha 2, Beta 1, Beta 2, Gama 1, Gama 2, Delta 1, Delta 2 and so on. It has
been ascertained by a quick sample survey by the Complainant-Society that over 50,000
persons have purchased plots/group housing/built properties or flats from the
OP for a consideration that is of the order of several crores of rupees. The
website of the OP claims that by 2021, the population of the area will go up to
12 lacs. The survey has also shown that many of the purchasers are senior
citizens and retired officers of the government of
9) The current web
site of the OP has the following claim about Greater Noida:
“Get ready for a
breath of fresh air...
in a city where the future is present and ultra modern
infrastructure is ready and waiting for you. Come witness a glorious
partnership of industry with nature, life with lifestyle and administration
with enterprise.
Welcome to Greater Noida - world city where the grass is
greener, the roads wider, the air cleaner, where
power cuts are unheard of
and proactive governance is a way of life.
No delays, no congestion, no problems. Greater Noida, a world city planned with an
obsession is ready to welcome you to the future”. (The underlining and highlighting is of the Complainant)
10) That our survey further
disclosed that most of the residents opted to move to Greater Noida area,
despite its distance from Delhi and other options like Gurgaon and Noida being
available, because of all these claims, especially the claims of ‘uninterrupted
power supply’. This claim of ‘uninterrupted power supply’ has not just been
made in the website now but has been repeated many times in the past in press
advertisements inserted by the OP. A small sample of the press advertisements
colleted by the Complainant Society during the survey are given at Annexures
4-1 to 4-18 .
11) That during the survey by
the Complainant Society it was disclosed by the residents that while initially
the promise of a uninterrupted power supply was adhered to by the OP, but since
2003 there has been heavy load shedding leading to huge power cuts, unlike what
the website claims. While enquiring into this aspect, the survey being carried
out by a website ‘www.parichowk.com’, was brought to the Society’s notice. For
the last one month or so the website was inviting residents of Greater Noida to
bring to its notice the cases of load shedding. The data collated from the
complaints of the residents over the period March 12 to April 2008 is as below:
|
Name |
Address |
Email |
Locality |
Powercut_date |
From |
To |
Remarks |
Date |
|
Parichowk Dot Com |
- |
- |
Alpha II |
|
|
|
- |
2008/04/14 |
|
Parichowk |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
- |
2008/04/12 |
|
Parichowk Dot Com |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
- |
2008/04/12 |
|
adite banerjie |
Alpha I |
adite@sify.com |
/Alpha I |
|
|
|
NPCL claims that its
regular load shedding schedule is for 5 hours in the morning and 1 hour in
the morning. However it never sticks to a timetable. For the last 4-5 days,
power goes off at |
2008/04/11 |
|
Parichowk Dot Com |
- |
- |
Alpha II |
|
|
|
- |
2008/04/11 |
|
shantonu sen |
G 34 Beta 2 |
shantonu_sen@hotmail.com |
Beta 2 |
|
|
|
This load shedding is in
addition to the 4 hours regular shedding later in the day. |
2008/04/10 |
|
Name |
Address |
Email |
Locality |
Powercut_date |
From |
To |
Remarks |
Date |
|
Parichowk Dot Com |
Alpha II |
- |
- |
|
|
|
- |
2008/04/09 |
|
Parichowk Dot Com |
Alpha II |
- |
- |
|
|
|
- |
2008/04/09 |
|
Parichowk Dot Com |
- |
- |
I Block |
|
|
|
- |
2008/04/08 |
|
Parichowk Dot Com |
- |
- |
I Block |
|
|
|
- |
2008/04/08 |
|
yash negi |
grren glades,ansal
housing,psi I |
9910234459,yash_negi88@yahoo.co.in |
sector psi |
|
|
|
there's a power cut at odd
times....every day....don't what will happen during summers..!!!! u may call
it a village of 21st century.....a HI-TECH GAON..... |
2008/04/07 |
|
Nirmal Kumar |
I-397 Delta-II |
varshneyiet@rediffmail.com |
Sector-Delta II |
|
|
|
Even after this cut of 5
hrs, NPCL cuts power without any schedule. can compare like elecricity in any
backward village. |
2008/03/16 |
|
R.Srinivas |
F-69,Gama-I |
srinimetro@gmail.com |
Gama-I |
|
|
|
There is nothing new as
power cuts are as usual.G.Noidaites have to get prepare for worst and
development is going infull swing and power shortage will aggravate |
2008/03/15 |
|
Name |
Address |
Email |
Locality |
Powercut_date |
From |
To |
Remarks |
Date |
|
KNEUS |
11, |
2322019/ 2322021 |
|
|
|
|
DAY TIME 4-7 HOURS NO LIGHT
SUPPLY |
2008/03/14 |
|
Indranil Banerjie |
B 8 |
na |
Alpha I |
|
|
|
NPCL should surrender its
electricity distribution licence and go back to selling Dalda in Kolkata's
Burrabazar. |
2008/03/13 |
|
|
- |
98189-0887 |
Alpha-I, Block |
|
|
|
What will happen in summer? |
2008/03/12 |
12) The information above has been summarized in the table
below:
|
Date |
Area |
Hours of load shedding |
|
|
Beta2/Alpha 2 |
3 hrs |
|
|
Beta 2 |
8 hrs |
|
|
Beta 2 |
7 hrs |
|
|
Alpha 2 |
3 hrs |
|
|
|
8 hrs |
|
|
Alpha 1 |
4.30 hrs |
|
|
Alpha 2 |
4.30 hrs |
|
|
Beta 2 |
1 hrs |
|
|
Alpha 2 |
30 minutes |
|
|
Alpha 2 |
2 hrs |
|
|
I Block |
7.30 hrs |
|
|
Ansal housing |
2 hrs |
|
|
Delta 2 |
5 hrs |
|
|
Gama 1 |
5 hrs |
|
|
|
3 hrs |
|
|
Alpha 1 |
6.30 hrs |
|
|
Alpha 1 |
8 hrs |
13) That these figures
disclose that in the 16 days that data is available on the website, the total
load shedding is of the order of 77 hrs i.e. a little less than 5 hours a day
on the average. Since the data is of the pre-summer months, it will naturally
be much higher in the coming months. Even at 5 hours a day, it comes to about
20%, considering that each day is 24 hrs.
14) That these
figures are correct is also clear from the admission made by the Chief
Executive, NOIDA Power Company Ltd (NPCL), in his letter dated
15) That, it may be
noted, NPCL, which has been given the right to supply the power in Greater
Noida, has been promoted by OP and OP is also the Chairman of NPCL. It is clear
that even should he seek to do so, it will not be possible for OP to shift the
blame on this power company for this reason and also the reason that once the
corporate veil is lifted NPCL and OP will be found to be one and the same
person.
16) That the survey by
the Complainant Society showed that each of the fifty thousand odd households
that have shifted to Greater Noida consume an average of 300 units of energy
every month and more than two out of every five residents have an inverter
installed in their home because of the continuous cuts in power supply. At a
very conservative estimate, the cost of power in the inverter is about Rs 3 per
unit more than the rate at which power is supplied by the power supplier since
the conversion efficiency of the inverter is rarely more than 90% and there is
the cost of the battery also, the life of which is rarely more than 2 years. Since
about 20% of this power is coming from the inverter, it is clear that each
resident has had to spend about Rs 180 per month extra due to the deficiency in
service for the past three years. This means a total amount of Rs 6,450 for
each resident who has an inverter. For all the estimated 20,000 residents who
have inverters installed at their residences this cost will be Rs 12.96 crores over the last three years;
this extra amount has been spent because of the failure of the OP to live upto
its contractual promise and assurance of providing an ‘uninterrupted power
supply’ to the purchasers of plots, built up houses etc in Greater Noida.
17) That Sec 2(i)(g) of
the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 defines deficiency in service ‘means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming
or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance which is
required to be maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or
has been undertaken to be performed by a person in pursuance of a contract or
otherwise in relation to any service.’
18) That in its
various advertisements in newspapers other media and through claims and
assurances made in its website, the OP had clearly assured the purchasers of
flats/plots etc of a reliable and uninterrupted power supply. This was proposed
to be ensured by setting up a private power company which OP will promote. This
assurance and promise is contained in the letter of the then Chairman, GNIDA,
Sri Nripendra Mishra to allottees dated
19) By his failure to
comply with its assurance of ‘uninterrupted power supply’, the OP has committed
breach of contract/promise and is thereby responsible for ‘deficiency in
service’ as defined in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and is liable to pay
compensation not just for the financial loss suffered by the consumers due to
its negligence but also for the mental stress and harassment that they have had
to undergo. This failure of the OP is compounded by his gross negligence of
failing to install, even 15 years after the promise was made by its Chairman, a
captive power unit of 75 MVA or of any capacity at all.
20) That the
Complainant would like the Hon’ble National Commission to order as under:
1) Payment of compensation of the amount
that the consumers have lost because of the deficiency of service of the OP in
not providing ‘uninterrupted power supply’ as promised and forcing them to
install inverters at heavy cost and incurring heavy losses. These losses amount
to Rs 180 per month for each of the 20,000 consumers who have been forced to
install inverters; i.e. a total over the last three years of Rs 6,480 each. The
Hon’ble Commission may order for the payment of compensation of Rs 6,450 to
each of the consumers named in para 3 above.
2) The Hon’ble Commission may also order
for the payment of an amount of Rs 12.90 crores to 20,000 odd consumers who are
estimated to have inverters. This amount may be kept in the Consumer Welfare
Fund till they can be identified and/or used for the welfare of consumers as
per the rules of the said Fund.
3) The Hon’ble Commissio