Mumbai: Homebuyers seek relief from MahaRera woes

Flat buyers aggrieved by delayed possession of their flats and who are flooding MahaRERA with refund complaints are now raising serious concerns about ineffective order enforcement Experts debate whether to penalise noncompliant developers or adopt the Gujarat RERA ModelDespite appointing a retired collector for recovery MahaRERArsquos objectives remain unmet Litigants have reported fruitless pursuits with MahaRERA orders and subsequent warrants but to date few have received any money as the recovery and auction of property is handled by the revenue officials under the respective district collectors after MahaRERA issues warrantsNumbers speakRamesh Prabhu the founder chairman of Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association MahaSEWA mentioned that as of August 31 2022 MahaRERA had issued 884 warrants under section 40 of RERA aiming to recover a total of Rs 5433 croreMumbai city accounted for 33 warrants targeting Rs 7840 crore Mumbai suburban had 378 warrants for Rs 24793 crore Pune had 163 warrants seeking R10873 crore and Thane had 140 warrants for the recovery of Rs 6002 crore among othersJustice delayedMahaRERAs lax recovery process coupled with revenue officials other priorities results in prolonged suffering for litigants Establishing a dedicated recovery department and amending the land revenue code akin to GujRERA is crucial for timely justice said PrabhuSluggish recovery processExpressing concern Advocate Godfrey Pimenta said ldquoThe need for an immediate and robust followup mechanism to enforce MahaRERA warrants swiftly citing alarming delays undermining the regulatory framework and compromising homebuyers rights and interests is imperative The delays in this process not only jeopardise the rights and interests of homebuyers but also erode confidence in the regulatory frameworkrdquoAlso Read Renting in Mumbai Your guide to budgetfriendly home decorAssociation reactsAdvocate Anil Drsquosouza Secretary of the MahaRERA Bar Association said ldquoWhen MahaRERA reports over 15620 resolved cases its essential to note that this figure includes a cases settled through conciliation but hindered by builder reluctance to comply with their own consent terms leading to additional legal complexities like builders cheque bounce and additional legal charges including court fees b cases marked as resolved after Maha RERA issues a final orderwarrant initiating a recovery process with subsequent legal hurdles due to lack of compliance from builders c a new phase begins involving allottee advocates navigating government offices for property attachment or auction a process spanning multiple locations like Mumbai Thane Raigad and PuneThe retired Additional Collector appointed by MahaRERA in December 2022 oversees the process until the warrant is dispatched to the CollectorTehsildars office But what is more important is that MahaRERA needs to ensure the execution of warrants to prevent litigants frustration with bureaucratic processesrdquo he addedldquoErrant builders should see MahaRERA orders implemented with lightning speed so that current and future orders of MahaRERA are not ignored or under noncompliance by themrdquo he concludedAlso Read Will BMC break the bank for big infra playLitigants speakHaricharan Yadav a 72yearold retired MTNL employee invested his retirement funds of Rs 2251 lakh in a Virar W project registered with MahaRERA in 2013 Following a December 2020 MahaRERA order and warrant against the developer Yadav is awaiting a refund of R43 lakh with interest currently pending action by the Thane Collector ldquoI wonder when I will get my money back it has been a long waitrdquo expressed YadavVishal Raut a 45yearold businessman received a favourable MahaRERA order in June 2022 instructing a developer to refund over R14 lakh with interest Despite continuous followups with the Shahpur Tahsildar office Raut is still awaiting his refund facing unresponsive developersOther sideAs of December 15 2023 MahaRERA issued 1123 warrants and by February 20 2024 1214 warrants were issued recovering Rs 76366 crore and Rs 93257 crore from 459 and 488 projects respectively The additional collector retired assumed charge in December 2022 and significant recovery occurred under his tenure The process is timeconsuming due to legal constraints on auctioning disputed properties explained a MahaRERA insider requesting anonymity884No of warrants issued by MahaRera