Buyers to protest RERA ‘dilution’
City homebuyers are thinking of holding a major protest against the Haryana government for passing what they feel is a dilution of the Centre’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act.
Homebuyers are not happy with the provision in HaryanaRERA (H-RERA) wherein projects that have been granted occupation certificate (OC) are exempt from RERA ambit. They feel that this provides an escape route to developers.
The resentment comes after the unexpected approval of H-RERA by the Haryana cabinet on Tuesday evening. According to homebuyers, the cabinet approved the rules diluted by the town and country planning (TCP) department.
According to provisions of the Central RERA Act, developers who obtained completion certificates (CC) for their projects before May 1, 2017, will be out of the RERA ambit. However, in Haryana, this is possible with just an OC, which can be obtained much earlier and with more ease than a CC.
“It’s unfortunate that in Haryana the Central RERA Act lost its sole purpose of helping tens of thousands of homebuyers. I wish instead of buying a home in Gurgaon, I had bought one in Bihar or Odisha where a strong RERA has been notified. Why were homebuyers’ suggestions not considered? The government must reply and give us solid reasons for not incorporating our suggestion to not accept getting an OC as a reason for exemption from RERA,” said Prakhar Sahay, president, Estella Welfare Association.
He said homebuyers will hold a major protest soon after the Act is published or notified. A number of people waiting for possession of long-delayed flats to be given by builders are active on social media and are planning to persuade a large number of disgruntled homebuyers to participate in the protest.
The Act is yet to be notified by the government, but it seems the OC provision has been made just to give builders adequate time, said a buyer. Abhinav Trivedi, a homebuyer in BPTP Park Generations, said, “H-RERA is nothing but an eyewash and a very clever way to help builders. It was already delayed and now these diluted rules will help builders buy time to save money on their delayed projects.