Maharashtra Regulatory Authority of India (MahaRERA) has sent show-cause notices to 563 developers for non-compliance with uploading details on its website for homebuyers. According to the Immovable Property Act, 746 projects registered with the real estate regulator in January had to register and update certain forms on the website containing the details of how many registrations, how much money was received, how much was spent, etc. This is a legal provision to make this basic information available to homebuyers who have or will invest in these projects.
So, MahaRERA issued a 15-day show-cause notice to all these developers in May to update this information. 183 of the developers have updated their quarterly reports on the website. MahaRERA took serious note of the indifference shown by the remaining 563 developers towards consumers. Show-cause notices have been issued to all of them under section 7 as to why the registration of their projects should not be cancelled. The developers have been given a period of 45 days to respond, failing which may result in the cancellation of their project registration. All transactions of the project like the bank account, new registration, and construction may be suspended in that case.
This action is the follow-up of a new monitoring mechanism that MahaRERA chief Ajoy Mehta had put in place. The regulatory body has started monitoring the quarterly financial progress reports of the projects (Financial Quarter Based Project Progress Reporting System) from Q1. By doing this, MahaRERA is trying to bring more transparency into this field where homebuyers can also have access to all details related to a project. Apart from Rules 3,4 and 5 of Section 11 Regulation of the Real Estate Act, Order No. 33/2022 dated 5th July, 2022, also requires every developer to update the prescribed statement forms on the website on a quarterly/annual basis. It includes important customer-related matters such as changes in the approved building plan, the current status of the project, how many plots, flats, and garages have been registered for the project, and how much money has been received.
Another important aspect is that a separate account has to be opened in the bank for the project concerned as per the MahaRERA registration number. 70 per cent of the money coming from customers under registration has to be kept in this account. Forms 1, 2, and 3 certified by the project engineer, architect, and chartered accountant of the project have to be submitted while withdrawing the amount of work done, and estimated expenditure for the respective project work. At the same time, these forms are also required to be sent to MahaRERA within the prescribed time. If the money has not been withdrawn, then it is necessary to submit the self-certification on the website showing the amount of money paid in the bank as ‘nil’ during this period.
A press note issued by MahaRERA says, “All these aspects are explained to the developers while registering their project with MahaRERA. It is also clearly mentioned in the MahaRERA Project Registration Certificate issued to them. Despite this and despite giving ample opportunity to notice, 563 out of 746 developers have not updated their quarterly forms on the website. Therefore a show cause notice under Section 7 has been issued to all of them.”
Comments
0 comment