MahaRERA chief Ajoy Mehta admitted there was pendency. (News18 File)
News18 exclusively speaks to MahaRERA chief Ajoy Mehta on his efforts to change its image from a slow-moving regulatory body to an aggressive watchdog
Over the last few months, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MAHARERA) has been in news for its various initiatives. News18 exclusively spoke to MahaRERA chief Ajoy Mehta on the efforts to change its image from a slow-moving regulatory body to an aggressive watchdog.
“Our aim is to ensure that buyers are not forced to resort to litigation, as the most common complaint we receive is non-completion of projects on time. There is a law which gives enough power to the regulator to regularly monitor any project. As the regulatory authority, we are conducting the exercise on a regular basis. Every quarter we take stock of the projects so that we can take corrective steps, if required. We are aggressive in monitoring the projects,” explained Mehta.
On cheating in the interiors of Maha
Asked how MahaRERA is dealing with the high number of builders in the interiors of Maharashtra as compared to urban areas, Mehta said, “There is a small percentage of delinquent builders who think they can do anything. But Best way is to check everything from day 1. Make the builder aware that we are monitoring them and there are provisions in the act. We also make the buyers aware of what they will get in the project We are educating them about what they should keep in mind while buying a home.
on pendency
The MAHARERA chief admits that there is a backlog and around 7,000 cases are still pending with the regulator.
“We are short of members. The law allows us three members, but as of now we are working with two. Once the third member comes in, the pendency will reduce. We also have to see that cases are not filed. You can call it a utopian dream, but I have a dream that people don’t have to struggle for a house. To achieve this, we must keep a good watch. If the project documents are correct and what is being promised is delivered, complaints will not be lodged. We aim to make our complaint zero. I know this is difficult to achieve, because there are people who will file lawsuits and there will be a group of people who are criminals. As we tighten the noose, the number of complaints is coming down,” said Mehta.
on the exam for agents
MahaRERA recently took the test of all estate agents. MahaRERA is the first regulator in the country to conduct such test for agents.
“We are of the opinion that agents play a very important role as they are transaction advisors. Being transaction advisors, the first thing one should know is what is a transaction. After the introduction of RERA, this sector is more has become organized and structured. So agents should also know what they are advising. They should know concepts like RERA carpet area. The dispute starts from here, where a buyer says that I was promised something else , But got something else. If the agent is aware of such things, it will ultimately help the buyers.”
Mehta further added: “Buying a home is one of the major decisions in life. At least 90-95% of Indians buy a home which they call their dream home. But someone has to educate them about that house, so we think the agent should educate the buyers.”
Registration of 80 projects is being canceled
Recent news reports suggest that MahaRERA is planning to deregister projects of 80 developers.
“The law clearly says that if you advertise a project and sell it, you have to register it with RERA. We have found that we had a lot of projects registered but there is no development on it in last few years. We found that there are many reasons due to which such projects are not taking off. Some have financial issues, some are stuck for permissions and some have internal disputes. So we have decided to de-register such projects as we do not want to waste our time monitoring them if there is no progress. If there is a buyer in such a project, he has to settle first. This is one of the conditions we put before de-registration of projects.”
on non-compliance
Buyers often complain that developers do not follow RERA orders.
“This was the earlier scenario. But once we pass the refund order, the collector is issued a warrant against the developer for recovery. We ask the collector to take charge of the property, sell it and pay the buyer. But all this needs time. We have to follow the process. We found that there has been negligence at some places, so we have got additional collectors and they are following up with the collectors. This step had paid dividends as we have recovered around Rs 100 crore in the last few months. We are happy with the progress. In the coming days, we will see that RERA orders will be followed aggressively,” said Mehta.
