Hyderabad: The Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TGRERA) has directed a developer, based in LB Nagar, to either register an unencumbered plot in its ‘SV Golden City 5‘ project or refund the entire sum of 15.1 lakh collected from the buyer with 11% annual interest. The complainant, Purshottam Ketepally of Tarnaka, alleged he had paid 1.08 lakh to book a plot in the project in Oct 2022 and later signed a sale agreement on Dec 7, 2022, after paying an additional 4.09 lakh.After signing the agreement, Purshottam said he discovered that the plot was under mortgage. After waiting for six months, he accepted the builder’s assurance of an alternate plot and paid another 10 lakh. Despite follow-ups, no registration took place, he said. TGRERA said the builder had failed both to register the booked plot and to fulfil the promise of an alternative. While the complainant could not establish the availability of unencumbered plots, the authority ruled in his favour, citing payments and principles of equity.The authority ordered the developer to provide an unencumbered plot in the same project within 30 days, subject to the complainant’s consent. If no such plot was available or registered within the period, the builder must refund the entire 15.1 lakh, along with interest at 11% per annum, calculated from the dates of each payment, it said.Failure to comply will attract penalties under Section 63 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, it warned. The complaint was disposed of with these directions and no costs were awarded.