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Government succumbs to developers lobby pressure, delay in forming HRA panel

The Centre government had recently approved the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013' and has asked the state government to squash its earlier approved Act and to implement the Centre one.

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The Maharashtra government is reluctant to constitute the ad hoc Housing Regulatory Authority (HRA) because of the lobby pressure from the developers.

The Centre government had recently approved the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013' and has asked the state government to squash its earlier approved Act and to implement the Centre one.

Sources in the government said, one of the clause of this new Act is to constitute an ad hoc body for six months. "Meanwhile, it had asked to prepare for final HRA, its framework and its functioning guidelines. The housing secretary will head this body and would deal with the buyers and developers' issues. It has been almost two months neither the HRA has been formed nor government has shown any interest in this regard," the source added.

If this authority gets formed, then the buyers right will be protected and housing sector will be regulated. They can also complaint against the errant developers. The Act will also provide for imprisonment of up to three years in case of promoters/developers and imprisonment up to one year in case of real estate agents and buyers for any violation of orders of HRA or monetary penalties or both.

Prakash Mehta, state minister for housing, was not available for comments. However, a senior government official, on the condition of the anonymity, said that the Centre Act has got a lot of vagueness. "Besides, we have to make the rules and guidelines, how the body would function and the left over things would be included in the guidelines. It will take some time. Therefore, we had taken the decision not to form the ad hoc, but to form a permanent authority," the official clarified.

Another source informed that the state government is just buying out time. "The state had already approved its own Act. We sat on it for more than two years despite the assent from the president. We spent more time on preparing the guidelines and the file of this was lying with the chief minister office. This entire dilly-dallying has been done to favour the developers," said Advocate Jitendra Patil, consumer activist.

Pankaj Kapoor, MD of Liases Foras, said that the government should promptly execute the forming of the HRA process. "Developers cheat buyers in many ways. The buyers are always blind and they do not see and understand many hidden things behind the project and inflated house costs. Currently, buyers has no protection even though they are putting their hard earned money to buy the house. The HRA will empower them and regularise the housing sector by bringing the transparency. Besides, the developers will complete the project on time. Buyers will also get the house on time," Kapoor added.

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