Mohali, Aug. 10 -- The consumer commission has directed GMADA to pay interest on Rs.7 lakh it retained for over four years from a man who was kept on the waiting list for an industrial plot in IT City, Mohali, and later refunded the principal amount. The commission also ordered GMADA to pay him Rs.45,000 as compensation and litigation costs.

The commission, comprising president SK Aggarwal and member Paramjeet Kaur, partly allowed the complaint filed by Om Parkash Verma and directed GMADA to pay interest on the Rs.7 lakh earnest money from June 1, 2018, to October 4, 2022, when the authority refunded the principal amount.

The commission said GMADA was not justified in retaining the amount beyond the waiting period. It also observed that...