Latest news with #RERAs
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Focus on connection with citizens, PM tells ministries; no celebration of 11th year
PTI file photo NEW DELHI: In a span of just a month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has twice taken top central government bureaucrats and state chief secretaries by surprise by flagging public grievances that had reached him directly. On April 30, secretaries and chief secretaries attending a meeting under Pragati — the performance audit PM holds periodically — were surprised when Modi raised shortcomings in implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, an ambitious scheme to reach piped water to all households. On Wednesday, he again left them amazed when, during a review of the functioning of real estate regulators, he shared feedback that files in many RERA offices don't move unless 'vyavastha', a popular Hindu euphemism for pleasing the authorities, has been made. Senior officials said the two meetings, apart from providing a peek into the PM's continuing connect with the grassroots, were also symbolic of the government's decision to focus on problems which are holding up last-mile delivery of well-intentioned schemes. 'The push is towards on-ground engagement, where ministries and departments are to conduct focused drives, enrolment camps, and beneficiary interactions to strengthen access and awareness,' a senior govt source said. This also helps explain, sources said, why the 11th anniversary of the Modi govt passed without large-scale events or publicity campaigns. 'The spirit is not of celebration but of connection. The idea is to understand what more needs to be done and to do it better,' a government functionary said, adding that the PM has encouraged ministries to mark the milestone by 'listening and connecting'. This marks a shift away from the publicity campaign and advertisement blitz that has traditionally marked anniversaries. 'Ministries have instead been encouraged to use existing platforms and field networks to communicate achievements organically and prioritise authentic citizen's voices over packaged messaging,' the official said. Senior officials said the PM's observations on JJM and RERA were a clear signal to everyone to ensure that public grievances were redressed and impediments in the way of completion and saturation were removed. 'He made it clear that addressing public grievances is a top priority and cannot be treated as routine paperwork,' another senior bureaucrat said. In fact, the PM did not agree with the proposition of a chief secretary that they don't review the performance of a regulatory authority. He asked all chief secretaries to regularly review the performance of RERAs. TOI has learnt that at last month's Pragati meeting, Modi had directed the Jal Shakti ministry to dispatch 100-200 officers for on-ground verification of grievances. Sources said a large share of complaints related to no supply of water even after laying of pipelines, homes still waiting for taps within the premises, and bad quality water. Post this direction, the government has deployed 100 central nodal officers' (CNO) teams to inspect 183 JJM projects across 135 districts and the details of this were shared by cabinet secretary T V Somanathan at Wednesday's meeting.
Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
PM Modi to RERA heads at PRAGATI meeting: Must register all projects, act on buyers' complaints
Asking state governments to ensure the mandatory registration of all eligible real estate projects under the Real Estate Regulatory Authorities Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all Chief Secretaries to monthly monitor activities of RERAs in their respective states so that grievances of homebuyers are resolved on time, The Indian Express has learnt. The Prime Minister's directive came during a PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) meeting held via video conference on Wednesday. During the meeting, the PM also highlighted that Uttar Pradesh's share in the proportion of registered projects in the country is just 2.5 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, while its share in complaints is about 18 per cent. He asked the state officials to ensure that more and more real estate projects are registered under RERA in UP. In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said: 'During a review of public grievances linked to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), the PM emphasised the need to improve the quality and timeliness of grievance disposal to ensure justice and fairness for homebuyers. He asked state governments to ensure the mandatory registration of all eligible real estate projects under the RERA Act. The PM emphasised that strict compliance with RERA provisions is critical for restoring trust in the housing market.' Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, who attended the PRAGATI meeting, issued some directions to development authorities in his state. He is learnt to have asked all the local development authorities to review within three days the status of 10 oldest real estate projects in their jurisdiction, which have not been delivered till date. Singh has also called a meeting with representatives of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) and Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) on June 3. During the meeting, the PM reviewed three major infrastructure projects with a cumulative cost of over Rs 62,000 crore, spanning the sectors of Road Transport, Power, and Water Resources located across various States and UTs, as per the PMO statement. 'Emphasising the strategic importance of these projects, he called for concerted efforts to overcome implementation bottlenecks and ensure their timely completion,' the statement said. 'Highlighting the adverse impact of project delays, the PM reiterated that such setbacks not only inflate costs but also deprive citizens of essential services and infrastructure. He urged all stakeholders to prioritise efficiency and accountability, stressing that timely delivery is critical to maximising socio-economic outcomes,' it added.
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
RERA: Built for protection, undone by inaction
When a Supreme Court judge calls RERA a 'rehab centre for ex-bureaucrats', it's a wake-up call. Justice Surya Kant's blunt remark in March 2025 isn't the first indictment of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, and likely won't be the last. Insiders have been sounding the alarm for years. Former UP RERA member Balvinder Kumar admitted the authority lacks teeth to rein in rogue builders. Haryana's adjudicating officer Rajender Kumar called it a 'toothless tiger.' Even Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri criticised states back in 2022 for weakening the law and diluting its core purpose: protecting homebuyers. Now comes a shiny new IT initiative—a unified digital platform for all state RERAs. It sounds great on paper, with the promise of more transparency, easier access to project details, and one central database. But access to information was never the real issue. The problem is RERA simply isn't delivering the protection it promised. When it was launched in 2016, RERA gave hope to lakhs of homebuyers trapped in stalled, delayed, or subpar projects. It promised accountability, compensation, and a way to fight back. Nearly a decade later, many of those promises remain unfulfilled. In a recent conversation with three experts Anand Moorthy, Co-Founder, PropsAMC by Square Yards, Avikshit Moral, Partner at S&R Associates, and Aditya Parolia, Partner PSP Legal, who've taken numerous homebuyer cases to various state RERAs, I ran a simple yes-or-no check on some of RERA's most basic provisions: 70% of project funds must be deposited in an escrow account to prevent diversion, builders must compensate buyers with the same interest they charge for delays, full refunds with interest are due if a project is cancelled or indefinitely stalled, and quarterly updates on construction, finances, and approvals must be uploaded on the RERA site. The most startling takeaway? Most RERA safeguards are falling through the cracks simply because no one is really checking, all three experts agreed. There is hardly any audit by state RERAs on whether the builder is meeting the money in escrow requirement, little or no scrutiny of project updates, and poor enforcement of compensation or fair agreement clauses. In the absence of proper monitoring, RERA's transparency mandate remains a hollow promise. The RERA Act also lays out a solid dispute redressal mechanism. Complaints to be resolved in 60 days; appeals must be decided within another 60 days; and orders can include refunds, interest, compensation, or a direction to complete the project, and jail term for defying builders. But here's the problem. According to data shared by Square Yards, of the 265 cases filed by them on behalf of their home buyers, across UP, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Karnataka RERA in the past two years, recovery of claims from builders has been just 28%. More than 50 cases are stuck with "reserved orders" for 7–8 months, and over 30 are pending execution even after the final orders. In at least 15 cases, homebuyers have had to escalate to High Courts because RERA orders were simply not complied with. Even MahaRERA, once considered the poster boy among all state RERAs, first tries to get a mediation between the builder and the homebuyer. That can take up to … wait for it—six months. When things don't work out, the case has to be listed under the adjudicating officer. According to Avikshit Moral, partner at S&R Associates, the first hearing could take between 12 and 18 months. Even after multiple hearings that could easily go up to 2 years, it doesn't matter if orders aren't enforced. That's the Achilles heel of RERA. It has no teeth to bite when builders are barking at its directives. The problem isn't just delayed orders. Anand Moorthy adds, there's no fixed timeline for enforcement or recovery. Even after you win a case, implementation can take up to a year or more, depending on which state RERA you're dealing with. RERA relies on state agencies—the police, district collectors, and revenue officials for execution of its orders. But when those bodies either delay action or blatantly ignore RERA's orders, the home buyers are left helpless. Maharashtra alone has hundreds of unexecuted recovery warrants gathering dust. This is compounded by serious lack of capacity. Most RERA offices are swamped, handling 80–100 cases a day. Many are staffed by retired bureaucrats, often with no legal training or understanding of real estate complexities. Add to this the legal maze where builders delay proceedings or run to the NCLT to stall action, and you're left with a system designed to exhaust the buyer, not protect them. The issue isn't just with adjudication alone. It's that even provisions meant to apply automatically, like compensation for delays, are now being treated as matters for dispute resolution, says Aditya Parolia. If you look at similar laws in places like Singapore, the difference is stark, he adds. Their systems implement regulatory and adjudicatory functions in a well-synchronised, streamlined way. At the heart of it, if regulation becomes lax, and developers aren't held to what they promise buyers, the system fails. First, RERA must start acting like a real regulator— watching builder disclosures and industry practices closely and stepping in at the first sign of a gap, not after things fall apart. That requires officials who are trained, agile, committed, and enough in number to make it work. Second, orders cannot remain hostage to state machinery. Penalties must be meaningful, and recovery mechanisms must be quick and binding. None of this requires a shiny new website in the form of Unified RERA portal. It needs political will and legislative reform. Until that come about, homebuyers would do well to stay cautious, even when the project proudly flaunts that RERA registration number.
Mint
01-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
RERA: Built for homebuyer protection but undone by inaction
When a Supreme Court judge calls the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) a 'rehab centre for ex-bureaucrats," it's a wake-up call. Justice Surya Kant's blunt remark in March isn't the judiciary's first indictment and likely won't be the last. Insiders have been sounding the alarm for years. Former Uttar Pradesh RERA member Balvinder Kumar admitted the authority lacks teeth to rein in rogue builders. Haryana's adjudicating officer Rajender Kumar called it a 'toothless tiger." Even Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri criticized states in 2022 for weakening the law and diluting its core purpose: protecting homebuyers. Now comes a shiny new infotech initiative: a unified digital platform for all state RERAs. It sounds great on paper, with the promise of more transparency, easier access to project details and a single central database. But access to information was never the real issue. The problem is that RERA is simply not delivering the protection it promised. When it was launched in 2016, RERA gave hope to millions of homebuyers trapped in stalled, delayed or sub-par projects. It promised accountability, compensation and a way to fight back. Nearly a decade later, many of those promises remain unfulfilled. Transparency? Hazy at best: Startling results emerge from a check of some basic RERA provisions: 70% of project funds must be deposited in an escrow account to prevent diversion; builders must compensate buyers with the same interest rate they charge for delayed payments; full refunds with interest are due if a project is cancelled or indefinitely stalled; and quarterly updates on construction, finances and approvals must be uploaded on the RERA site. Most RERA safeguards are falling through the cracks because no one seems to be holding builders accountable. There is hardly any audit by state RERAs on whether a builder is meeting the money-in-escrow requirement, little or no scrutiny of project updates and poor enforcement of compensation or fair agreement clauses. In the absence of proper monitoring, RERA's transparency mandate remains a hollow promise. Redressal mechanism? Don't count on it: The RERA Act also lays out a clear dispute redressal mechanism. Complaints must be resolved in 60 days, appeals must be decided within another 60 days and orders can include refunds, interest payments, compensation or directions to complete projects, apart from jail terms for errant builders. According to data shared by Square Yards, of the 265 cases filed by it on behalf of homebuyers, recovery of claims from builders has been just 28%. More than 50 cases are stuck with 'reserved orders" for 7–8 months and over 30 await execution even after final orders. In at least 15 cases, homebuyers have had to escalate matters to high courts because RERA orders were not complied with. Even MahaRERA of Maharashtra, once considered the poster boy among all state RERAs, first tries to arrange mediation between the builder and homebuyers. That can take up to six months. If things don't work out, the case needs to be listed under an adjudicating officer. The first hearing could take between 12 and 18 months. Even after multiple hearings that could go on for up to two years, a remedy for orders not being enforced can prove elusive. That's RERA's Achilles heel. It has no teeth to bite when builders ignore RERA directives. The problem isn't just delayed orders. There's no fixed timeline for enforcement or recovery. Even after a case is won, implementation of orders can up take up to a year or more, depending on which state's RERA one is dealing with. RERA relies on state agencies—the police, district collectors and revenue officials—for the execution of its orders. But when those bodies either delay action or blatantly ignore RERA orders, homebuyers are left helpless. Maharashtra alone has hundreds of unexecuted recovery warrants gathering dust. This is compounded by a serious lack of capacity. Most RERA offices are swamped, handling 80–100 cases a day. Many are staffed by retired bureaucrats, often with no legal training or understanding of real-estate complexities. Add to this the legal maze that builders use to delay proceedings, and you're left with a system designed to exhaust homebuyers, not protect them. The problem is not just with adjudication. Even provisions meant to apply automatically, like compensation for delays, are now being treated as matters for dispute resolution. The difference is stark with systems in places like Singapore, where regulatory and adjudicatory frameworks operate smoothly. If regulation is lax and developers aren't held to the promises they make buyers, the system can be deemed a failure. So, what needs to change? First , RERA must start acting like a real regulator— watching builder disclosures and industry practices closely and stepping in at the first sign of a gap, not after things fall apart. That requires officials who are trained, agile, committed and enough in number. Second , orders must not be hostage to state machinery. Penalties must be meaningful and recovery mechanisms quick and binding. This requires political will and legislative reform. Until that comes about, homebuyers would do well to stay cautious, even when a housing project proudly flaunts a 'RERA registration' number. The author is a journalist, content strategist, and host of 'Let's Get REal'.
