INDIA. Mumbai: With over 5000 housing projects remaining incomplete for the past few years, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has sought the intervention of the developers’ bodies to revive the projects and give relief to harrowed home buyers.
Based on the advice of MahaRERA Chairman Ajoy Mehta, a meeting with developers’ bodies was recently organised by the Chief Advisor, MahaRERA, in which it was decided to form six mediator groups to take stock of the pending projects and initiate remedial measures.
The developers’ bodies (self-regulatory organisations (SROs) that will work in coordination with MahaRERA are: NAREDCO West Foundation, CREDAI-MCHI, CREDAI Maharashtra, Builders Association of India, Marathi Bandhkam Vyavsayik Association, and Brihanmumbai Developers’ Association. Initially, a group of six SROs will be formed; if required, their number will be increased, MahaRERA’s media adviser, Ram Dotonde, said.
There are 5,756 stalled projects in Maharashtra. Seventy percent of the work on the 1882 projects has been completed.Yet they are delayed for different reasons. Of the 1882 projects, only 624 are registered with the SROs, and the remaining projects are not registered with the SROs. As such, the SROs will submit the list of registered/unregistered projects to MahaRERA.
The SROs will collect the details of these stalled projects from the developers to initiate steps for their revival. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad) (309), Pune (220), Nagpur (20), Aurangabad (29), Nashik (41) and Amravati (05) are among the projects.The SRO will assist all other developers in the next phase, although they are not its members.
Categorization
MahaRERA has categorized stalled projects as: a) the projects which can be completed without affecting the rights of the home buyers, b) the projects which require a compromise between the developers and home buyers, c) the projects requiring MahaRERA’s intervention to resolve disputes related to local-self Governments and the banks involved in extending finance and d) the projects requiring a change of developers in place of absconding developers.
The SROs will advise the developers to seek an extension of the deadlines to complete the project. Where a compromise between the developer and home buyers is required, the representatives of home buyers will be involved in the discussion.
The applications will be sought from the developers seeking the details of the assistance required from MahaRERA to deal with local self-bodies and the banks.
Initially, the projects with 70 per cent work completion and the projects in which the developers have received 70 per cent of the flats will be prioritised.
Panel
The mediator groups will involve the project’s architect, financial institution, concerned developer and representatives of home buyers. The SROs will be required to appoint experienced members to the mediator groups, given the seriousness of the matter.
These groups will hold virtual/actual meetings with the developers to know the reasons behind the projects getting stalled and to explore the possibilities of revival. Then these groups will submit a report to the MahaRERA for further action.
The concerned developer will have to remain present in the meetings. In exceptional circumstances, his authorised, empowered representative can be allowed to attend the meeting.
Counsellor
In another development, the MahaRERA has set up a Counsellor cell at its office at BKC in North West Mumbai to assist home buyers and developers. The guidance will be given to the home buyers about filing their complaints detailing their grievances like delayed possession, substandard construction etc.
Similarly, the developers will be given guidance for registering their projects, the updatation of the project information every three months, etc. MahaRERA becomes the first authority in the country to set up such a cell.
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