FPCE urges Supreme Court to direct Bengal to roll out RERA
FPCE urges Supreme Court to direct Bengal to roll out RERA
The Forum for People’s Collective Efforts (FPCE), a pan-India homebuyers‘ body, has moved the Supreme Court urging it to direct the West Bengal government to quickly implement the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 in the state.
In May, the apex court ruled that West Bengal’s separate real estate regulations are repugnant to the central government’s RERA Act and are unconstitutional. The Centre had also urged the state government to implement the central law in the state.
The state has, however, not yet implemented the Act and the non-existence of any law to regulate the sector is resulting in exploitation of homebuyers, FPCE said in its plea to the top court.
The homebuyers’ body has also urged the court to direct the state government to immediatelely appoint a chairperson and members of both the Real Estate Regulatory Authority and the RERA Appellate Tribunal as per the Act within four weeks of such orders.
This will ensure the registration of real estate projects, filing of complaints and hearing of homebuyers’ issues.
“It’s been 8 months since the Supreme Court struck down the WBHIRA, but the RERA has yet to be implemented in West Bengal. This has left homebuyers in the lurch as neither new complaints can be filed nor existing complaints be continued… This has led to a situation where homebuyers are being subjected to even more ruthless exploitation by builders,” Abhay Upadhyay, president, FPCE, told ET.Upadhyay is also a member of the Union government’s central advisory council on RERA.
According to him, the absence of regulation is proving to be a blessing in disguise for builders as they are violating the provisions of RERA with impunity and are launching projects without registration and proper disclosures
In July, the West Bengal government notified the rules governing real estate regulatory authority in the state under Section 84 of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, a development that was seen as a step towards implementation of the central legislation in the state. Following this, the state also established the Real Estate Regulatory Authority and the RERA Appellate Tribunal.
However, the state has not constituted the authority and the tribunal by appointing its members and chairpersons. FPCE has also requested the court to issue directions to the state to file a compliance report after implementing the law.
Courtesy:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
