Will real estate bill really stop unfair practices in housing projects ?

         Yesterday cabinet of India approved real estate(regulation and development) bill. This bill aims to establish the Real Estate Regulatory Authority for regulation and planned development in the real estate sector, to ensure sale of immovable properties in an efficient and transparent manner, and to protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector.

Earlier also central and state governments have passed so many legislations and policies to regulate this sector. Primary object of all these legislations and policies was to help consumer from being cheated, to provide affordable housing, to give concessions to this sector for benefit of poor. However, none of these legislations or policies could provide shelter for poor. All the benefits or concessions given by governments never reached to its real beneficiary. All the incentives, benefits, facilities, and concession meant for poor were robbed by mafias in this sector. Because no government attempted to check whether these benefits reach to real beneficiaries or not. That was deliberate and hand in glove with real estate mafias.

There were and are several legislations or policies that were meant for affordable housing. e.g. housing for economically weaker section (EWS) , Urban Land ceiling ( ULC) , so many awas yojanas , special Township act , Slum rehabilitation Act (SRA), Affordable housing policy , National Urban Housing & Habitat Policy (NUHHP), Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) , Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP), various state housing boards etc. etc.

None of the above could provide adequate affordable housing or housing for poor. There were several benefits and concessions given in all the above schemes and policies but they never reached to real beneficiaries' .Only beneficiary of such benefits and concessions were developers. Anarchy is Urban Land Ceiling Act was introduced to acquire land for affordable housing and it was repealed for the same reason.

As far as Maharashtra is concerned, the first ever DRAFT STATE HOUSING POLICY was published in 2006. The main objective of this policy  to address the issue of providing affordable housing for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low Income Group (LIG), and Middle Income Group (MIG) .Under this policy and In order to encourage private investment in housing sector and to facilitate housing at affordable prices. Incentives for this scheme include automatic Non-agriculture permission, floating FSI in the township, concession in stamp duty, and concession in development charges and so on. However, what fate this scheme has mate? . Who got benefits of all those incentives ?

Can a person from EWS, LIG, and MIG dare or afford to purchase house in such schemes?. Forget about purchasing house in these schemes.Some townships are encouraging investors to buy flats in these schemes. Don't they know why they have received all the incentives? If you ask them why they are encouraging investors instead of real buyers they will shamelessly say that, government has put in any such condition. That is true there is no such condition or any authority to check whether such incentives reach to its real beneficiaries or not.

Not only this but many developers of such schemes even don't disclose correct fact of the schemes ,don't complete projects in time, don't give promised amenities .And there was not any authority to attend such complaints or to take sou motto action on such developers. Now government has come forward with one such authority called Real Estate Regulatory Authority. (RERA)

Hence forth every project above has to be registered with RERA and for that he/she has to declare among other things legal title to the land, land is free from all encumbrances and has to give affirmation that the project or the phase of the project shall be completed as the case may be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the registration.

This Authority may, on receipt of a complaint in this behalf or suo motto or on the recommendation of the Competent Authority, revoke the registration granted if

 (a) The promoter makes willful default in doing anything required of him by or under this Act or the rules or the regulations made there under;

(b) The promoter violates any of the terms or conditions of the agreement entered into with the Competent Authority: Provided that the Authority shall revoke the registration under this clause only on a recommendation received from the Competent Authority in this behalf;

(c) The promoter is involved in any kind of unfair practice or irregularities.

Explanation.-- For the purposes of this clause, the term “unfair practice means” a practice which, for the purpose of promoting the sale or development of any immovable property adopts any unfair method or unfair or deceptive practice including any of the following practices, namely:-

(A) The practice of making any statement, whether orally or writing or by visible representation which,-

(i) Falsely represents that the services are of a particular standard or grade;

(ii) Represents that the promoter has approval or affiliation, which such promoter does not have;

(iii) makes a false or misleading representation concerning the

services;

(B) permits the publication of any advertisement whether in any newspaper or otherwise of services that are not intended to be offered.

In this act, there is also provision of penalty If any promoter willfully fails to comply with or contravenes the provisions in act, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or a penalty which may extend to ten per cent of the estimated cost of the real estate project, or with both.

Let us hope this act will really regulate real estate sector and protect rights of consumers also .