The ministry of housing and urban affairs will form committees with stakeholders such as homebuyers, developers and RERA officials from each state to examine cases, for which orders passed by the real estate regulatory authorities have not been complied with.
Five years have passed since the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act was implemented. But non-compliance of orders passed by the real estate authorities is a cause for concerns, particularly for several aggrieved homebuyers. The issue was raised by the homebuyers’ forum at the Central Advisory Council meeting in April.
A senior official from the ministry of housing and urban affairs told TOI on Thursday that a detailed note on the Centre’s recent decision on the formation of the committees had been sent to all states. He said the central officials were following up with the states on the order. “The states will provide the Centre with their inputs, Formation of the committees will help all stakeholders,” the official said.
Homebuyers’ representatives said while many states had issued the orders, the implementation aspect was poor. “It (formation of the committees) is a good initiative. It seems that the Centre is keen on taking the issue forward, as many states have not put out the data regarding the implementation of orders issued by the real estate authorities,” said Abhay Upadhyay, president of the Forum for People’s Collective Efforts.
In Maharashtra, which leads the states in terms of registration of projects, citizens often raise issues regarding non-implementation of recovery warrant orders by the revenue department. These orders were supposed to be implemented within a specific time. “Justice delayed is justice denied. There are rules in the Act to penalize the builders found at fault. But the rules are rarely implemented,” said Ramesh Prabhu, chairman of the Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association.
Arun Seth, a homebuyer, said a recovery warrant order worth nearly Rs76 lakh issued by MahaRERA in 2019 against the developer from whom he had bought a property was yet to be executed. “The state revenue secretary recently directed all collectors to ensure that the orders were implemented. I hope that the collectors will ensure execution of the orders,” he said.