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“We cannot expect people to have respect for
law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce
those laws.”
― Hunter S. Thompson
“Any fool can make a rule
But only a fool will mind it.”
― Henry David Thoreau
“I never needed RERA for being transparent
with my clients as that’s part of the deal, I believe” … Me
Well, sorry first of all for putting my name
along with the Greats such as Hunter Thompson & Thoreau, but what I shared
is what I have learned from such names & can put it in words & more
than that in real life! Though the sharing is about RERA which is an act as per
our law system & let me tell you I am no legal expert (disclaimer no 1) but
tried to analyse the subject from the business aspect of it! Few terms have
become so much part of our vocabulary (thanks to news media & social media)
that many a times we mention them too casually ("Atiparichaya Avadnya',
plz goggle for meaning) & they have lost the respect or the impact they are
meant to be! Though a few still has that effect intact i.e. ED & DRI,
though even ACB & CBI has lost it, so RERA doesn’t have any chance. Fun
is, the creator of RERA (Supreme Court) has also started thinking that it
has lost its purpos, which is my subject of sharing!
The reason is a recent news where Hon Supreme
Court (SC) which is apex body of judicial system of our country, has raised
serious concerns over functioning or say the very purpose of RERA authorities
which operates State wise. Not just this, Hon SC has questioned govt (of
respective States) to introspect the functioning of RERA authority & some
very basic observations such as why the State head of any RERA authority is
some retired IAS officer & why not a qualified professional person from
architecture or housing field is not appointed as head here. As well, Hon. SC
has passed remarks to the extent that these RERA authorities are meant only to
protect default builders (I have some say about it) & let’s close such
establishments which are non-functional & are deviating from the purpose!
Let me tell you, I haven’t read the exact verdict & these are points which
are in the news media but even if these comments are fifty percent true then
it's serious & especially for the industry which is already bogged down with
NOC’s, Tribunals. Authorities which work as parallel govt in many cases &
RERA is definitely one such! Let me tell you at start, I am not against RERA
rather say the purpose for which RERA has been formed or come in existence,
i.e. transparency with the clients of real estate but as the Hon SC has
pointed, is it delivering for what’s it’s been formed, then frankly my answer
(or analysis) is a big NO. And fault is not of RERA of its provisions but as
usual the way it’s been functioning & with due respect to Hon SC, its their
very own baby may be a step baby yet it’s a juridical system & SC needs to
do a lot more than mere passing comment on RERA’ functioning, is my subject of
sharing!
Ok, before going ahead (not too long just a
few paras, lol), RERA is an act which has been made nationwide to check/ curb
the wrong practices in real estate & the same short form is used for an
authority which has been formed State wise to ensure proper functioning of this
act! Under this act every real estate project more than seven units is needed
to be registered with State RERA authority & progress as well legal
documentation is monitored by the authority periodically. This may seem simple &
plain on surface (like any other govt system or noc) but it’s not, especially
for the builders who respect laws & rules as those who don't they don’t
even bother to register the project & yet get through! If my statement is
not true then there wouldn’t have been millions of illegal buildings in the
State & still everyday their numbers are increasing as they don’t go to
RERA so no question arises to face any action by the RERA authority, is the
fact (read as joke)! But when a normal builder goes to RERA authority for registration
of his project then a common-sense thing is, all he has to do is upload
whatever information he has, in the format of RERA authority & the
authority has to do is check periodically that the information is right &
being followed, simple, isn’t it? Well, try doing that & then you will
realize the importance of the RERA consultants, a latest breed in real estate.
Consultants, I respect as I deal with many of them such as plumbing consultant,
Structural Consultant, Electrical Consultant, an architect itself is a
consultant but RERA consultant, why you need one as nothing technical is
involved here & that’s the game! The entire registration process & its
updating has become nothing but one more NOC in real estate & we all know
one NOC means one table (read as many) & to avoid delay the builder is
needed to appoint a consultant who deals with those tables & gets the
things done, this is defeat of the very purpose of RERA is what my subject of
sharing!
As you can check RERA website &
information & updating process, all they should ask is all what is on
record i.e. sanction plan, conditions of sanction plans for the developer &
details of the project & financials of the company. Upload it as well the
RERA authority can get all these from the servers of respective depts’ also,
why the developers have to do all the stuff again as except specifications
& amenities every other details even balance sheets of the company &
details of the partners are with banks, registrar of companies which you can
link with RERA server & update, right? At the same time any modification or
addition in the sanctioned plan if the developer is doing legally then it’s on
server of respective local body, get it from there but no, RERA wants
everything the builder must do again & in the way RERA needs it, this is
the reason of existence of RERA consultants as the builder (right one) is tired
of delays after buying the land & unless he obtains RERA registration
number he can’t take booking or launch the project because he is a law abiding
builder, which is fast becoming a fault actually! And then the RERA forms
have hundred things which even doesn’t comes under their preview yet they are
asking is, things such as from where builder will be providing water or roads,
these are planning authority’s jurisdiction & they should ask the builder
while passing the plans or while accepting development charges, why RERA has to
ask to the builder & there are many such things & this is why we need
RERA consultants!
Now, about the financials also, any project is
a risk like share market & RERA doesn’t got answer what if the project
doesn’t get sold & frankly that’s not even expected also by RERA as best
way of doing business in any industry is let the clients judge the product
& decide whether to buy it or not/ In any other industry than real estate
that’s the rule & that's why there is no such separate authority or act for
any product but real estate has it. It’s not because the builders cheat people
it’s because of the wrong policies about housing & urban planning the
builders (read carefully) who wants to follow laws & make a right home
& sale it at affordable price are unable to do it, that’s why the wrong
builders who are cheat builds illegal homes & common man is forced to buy
his home in such projects because of which need of RERA has come in picture!
So, RERA must target such builders & their projects but unfortunately its
targeting those who are already doing their job in right way, I know this
statement will make many faces frown but had it not been so then millions of
people in the city like Pune would have been still homeless as they were built
even when RERA want there, right? I repeat, it’s not about RERA right or
wrong, its about the way its being functioning as it must be for ease of both
parties of the deal but unfortunately it seems in many cases functioning
thinking as one party (read as the builder) is wrong always, which isn’t or
shouldn’t be the way, is my subject of sharing!
And outcome is not just about the delays in
RERA registration or renewals or updating but even many clients are using RERA
as blackmailing tool & then thanks to social media we have so called
Information Act activists too, which in most cases use that information for the
only purpose which we all know, but prefer to keep mum for respective reasons! Can
anybody tell how many genuine clients have been benefitted with RERA & got
their problem solved in time, as these cases & figures does matter a lot!
At the same time there is so much
confusion about where RERA is applicable & where MoFA (Maharashtra Flat
ownership Act) is applicable, taking the dispute between clients & builders
to a new level. And even the authorities too are divided on such things as two
organizations are approached when a dispute between builder & flat holders
happens, one is society registrar & second is, police & especially the
latter are clueless as to what action is to be taken & on whom & under
which act. Outcome is harassment, that too the builder ends up always on the
wrong side of the stick & again we know the obvious reason for the same! My
question is, why not RERA authorities (the top bosses) proactively start taking
awareness programs jointly with Police dept (to start with) & make them
know the provisions under these acts & duties as well as responsibilities
of both the parties i.e. builders as well the flat holders. You can conduct
such programs even online also so save time as well they can get recorded for
reference. At the same time send dummy developers & clients to RERA portal
to register both sides routine things i.e. proposal & updation / renewals
for builder & complaint or suggestion of the flat holders. As then you will
know what the end-user has to face while dealing on a routine basis with RERA.
One more thing, RERA controls even the real
estate agents & brokers also but that’s on paper, what it is doing actually
to control functioning of this fraternity which often misleads clients &
builders also for securing their commission. I have some good real estate agent
friends & with due respect, right from creating fake accounts of projects
to shaming the ongoing projects of some builder on social media, every possible
dirty practice is in game at present about which RERA is silent! At the same
time RERA also tried to introduce quality control on the site, which again,
good intention, but wrong line of thinking & implementations. As its
unending thing to control any industry, just like "Hanuman Ji Ki
Punchh" (plz google) the list of controls will keep on extending &
then in that zest the basic purpose of RERA will get lost (which already is).
RERA is a legal authority, it can frame a system to monitor the way you can
keep tap on a project but it can’t become a quality controller or specification
verifier, that’s not its job! Same way, managing financials of a project is a
complex job, & RERA must not take responsibility of the same Profit &
Loss of any business that too like real estate is something only the developer
knows, & his books of accounts as there are many verticals which defines
financial success of a project, unlike other industries. And right from project
finance to booking status things keep on changing as per the local scenario as
real estate is very much local business. The clients also can’t say that RERA
should take care of everything, they too need to be vigilant & clarify
things while giving a single rupee to any developer which they don’t, is a fact
& later blames RERA! As, RERA’s purpose is to make the home buyer aware
about the project he is booking & then see that he keeps getting timely
information about the project & provide a proper protection for his
consumer rights. And like any other product there was & is consumer forum,
as well civil & criminal court yet for real estate products RERA has been
formed, so how are we measuring the success of RERA, is my reason for sharing!
Has this eased out working for the builders, the answer we know & now even
the Hon SC itself has raised doubts about RERA, from the angle of consumer
protection. Thankfully, Hon SC specifically mentioned (sarcastically) RERA
being in function to protect the defaulting builders only, which means there
are builders which are functioning in the right way also & only if their
number increases then that's the success of RERA, is what I feel! One request to Hon. SC, if you think or feel that there are lacunas in
functioning of RERA then instead just passing comments or suggestions why can’t
you order (which only you can) to the govt or concerned to reform this forum
& see the outcome in specified time limit, because if Hon SC can’t do it
then do you expect the builders or the home buyers on their own can get this
done, as such remarks paints all builder fraternity in wrong shade in the eyes of society! As well, RERA itself needs to come forward & tell people about
impact it has made on the real estate’s wrong doings & by figures, as this
is age of social media & people need proof! That’s the right way to gain back
trust of both sides of table on RERA’s functioning!
Formation of RERA was a great thing for real
estate but now it’s nearly a decade & high time to analyse the entire
system under it & reform as per the needs of both sides i.e. developers
& the home buyers & for that the system must take representatives of
both sides in confidence & act as a team, proactively! I think when you are supposed to control (read as monitor) a human
dependant industry like real estate & that too most of them are not tech
savvy then you need to take some extra efforts to get the outcome you want,
which is not happening at present with RERA thingy, is a fact which we must
acknowledge as then only we can improve it, adios with this note!
-
Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at
YouTube link below & share if liked...
https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345
Please do visit my blog links below to read
about real estate & home buying!
https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2025/12/pune-real-estate-in-2026.html
https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345
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www.punecorporation.org
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