Mohali, Nov. 8 -- The Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has directed Sushma Buildtech Ltd. to pay a homebuyer Rs.20 lakh in interest for delay in handing over a flat at its Sushma Crescent project in Zirakpur, and to pay Rs.50,893 every month until it obtains the occupancy certificate and makes an offer of possession.

In an order RERA chairman Rakesh Kumar Goyal ruled in favour of Richa Verma, who booked a three-bedroom flat in Tower K on December 5, 2020. The agreement fixed December 5, 2021, as the possession deadline. The authority allowed the builder six months' COVID-related extension, moving the deadline to June 5, 2022.

Verma told the authority that she had paid Rs.52 lakh including GST, towards the flat, whose total...