After its most recent order in favour of a Pune developer, real estate lawyers and activists say the body must send out a strong message to builders
The 2 towers by Kul Developers in Pune
Ensuring transparency in the real estate industry and protecting the interests of common man - this was to be the aim of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, in Maharashtra (MahaRERA). But ground reality suggests this aim isn't being fulfilled, with the latest example being an order passed by MahaRERA on January 2, on a plea filed by four aggrieved flat buyers, in favour of Pune's Kul Developers (Pvt) Ltd.
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Four-fold grievances
The petitioners from Pune, in their complaint, raised four major concerns against the builder: the developer failed to give possession of their flats in 2016, as orally agreed; the developer, while registering the project with MahaRERA, mentioned wrong dates of possession/completion of project; the developer claimed that more than 50 per cent of the apartments had been booked, and yet, didn't form an association/society of the allottees, therefore violating section 11(1)(e) of the RERA Act; and lastly, the entire phase I consisting of Rs -1 and Rs -2, in which 10 towers having 25 floors, was to be constructed and amenities common to this phase were to be provided, particularly internal and access roads, but while registering the project, the developer registered the towers individually to delay the project, thereby contravening section 12 of the Act.
B D Kapadnis, member and adjudicating officer, MahaRERA, who headed the hearing, passed the order on January 2, setting aside the petitioners' plea and awarding each complainant a mere Rs 20,000 towards litigation cost. While Kapadnis directed the developer to deliver the possession of the booked flats on or before the agreed dates in their agreement, the complainants' claim or monetary compensation stood rejected. The developer was directed to form a society within two months of the said order and upload the commencement of certificate on MahaRERA site within one month.
Salt on their wounds
The complainants' lawyer Ashok Devkhile from Pune said, "I am yet to get the final order copy, but we are shocked by this verdict... "A payment of Rs 20,000 each is like rubbing salt on our wounds. We will be challenging this order in the Bombay High Court." He added, "When my clients made the bookings in 2013-14, paying Rs 30-50 lakh, they were promised possession of the flats within two years. But the developer delayed signing the sale deed agreement; it had a clause that said the possession would be given five years from the date of signing the agreement, which my clients opposed.
"The ground reality is that the developer had initially promised a township of 1,000 flats, but in the last 22 months, work at the site has stopped. So far, only two incomplete towers stand, with no access road or any other infrastructure." "As some of the flat buyers had taken loan and put in their savings to book flats, the developer was willing to accommodate my clients in the two incomplete towers; my clients rejected that offer and demanded a complete refund of their payment with interest and additional compensation for the loss they had to incur, but MahaRERA did not consider our plea," said the lawyer.
Developer's defence
Advocate Nilesh Gala from M/s Law Square, who represented the developer, said, "RERA has provisions for phase-wise development and registration of projects, which my client did as per norms. The possession date of the flats as per the agreement is yet to come, and the complainants' allegations are baseless. Also, the allegation that the developer made fake promises in ads doesn't stand as it was done prior to RERA coming into force, and the sale deed agreement (as per provisions of Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act), signed by the developer and purchasers, superseded all the earlier commitments made by the developer."
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