Residents are knocking the door of District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Panchkula, mostly for settling housing disputes. After the establishment of the Forum, in 1997 the highest number of complaints received pertained to the various housing disputes.

The Panchkula Consumer Court has received a total of 5,290 complaints, out of which 2,019 were related to housing disputes, mostly against real estate companies or the property dealers who offer residential plots or flats.

“Since establishment of the consumer court in 1997, we have settled 2,012 housing disputes cases. Most of the housing complaints we receive were about violating the terms and conditions of the contract, delay in allotment of flats and failure to construct flats,” said the President of the Forum, Ashok Kumar Jain. “The residents knock the door of the consumer court as they have a faith that they will get justice. Last year we settled 358 cases,” Jain said.

Jain added that people were now coming forward with complaints to the Forum as most of them know that as as per the Act, the consumer forum has to decide complaints within 90 days.

According to the figures maintained by the Consumer Forum, since 1997, they have received 659 complaints against the electricity department, 443 cases against insurance companies, 368 against defective household goods, 244 against telecom companies and 236 against banks. The Forum had also received complaints against railways, medical negligence, postal, education and road transport.