UP to rewrite RERA rules, process for full-time regulator begins
The Uttar Pradesh government is going to rewrite the Real Estate Rules as the ones scripted during the Samajwadi Party (SP) regime were allegedly ‘tailor-made to safeguard the interests of developers’ rather than homebuyers. Till such time the new operational rules come into force and a full-time regulator is appointed, principle secretary, Housing, Sadakant, will act as a regulator, as per the provisions of the Act that came into force on May 1.
On Friday, the housing department initiated the process inviting applications for the appointment of a regulator for Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). “Fresh applications have been invited for the post of chairman and members of the authority. People who had applied in the previous process in October, last year too will be considered in the selection process provided they have completed all the necessary formalities,” said a senior housing department official. Candidates, he said, could apply online on awasbandhu.in and the last date for registration was May 30.
On May 3, Hindustan Times had reported, how the process to select chairman RERA started in October, 2016, was shelved by the state government after an officer backed by it for the plum post had failed to make the mark. According to sources, while the officer in question is now out of fray, among the top contenders for the job are IAS officer Prabhat Kumar and ex-civil servants like Shankar Agarwal, Aradhana Jauhari and Rohit Nandan etc.
“We have been given time till July-end to put the requisite infrastructure and staff required to implement RERA in UP,” said the officer. A CRISIL research report had indicted UP along with Andhra Pradesh and Kerala for altering and diluting the Act by diluting the definition of ‘ongoing projects’, penalties for non-compliance on developers. A delegation of homebuyers and residents welfare association from NOIDA had met chief minister Yogi Adityanath last Thursday and pointed out how the provisions of the Act had been weakened to favour the developers/ builders.
A committee headed by the then housing secretary, Pandhari Yadav, who has now been shifted to Revenue Board, had drafted the operational rules.
Sources in the housing department confirmed that directives have been received from the CM to junk the existing rules notified in October last year and reframe them in the true spirit of the Act.
“Yes, we have been asked to draft the rules afresh. It will not take much time as we have received instructions to simply adopt the Centre’s Act in letter and spirit without making any changes of our own,” confirmed a senior housing department official.