UPRERA’s conciliation forum to fasttrack dispute resolution

Watchdog picks up two members for the newlyconstituted forum

LUCKNOW: With the UP Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UPRERA) setting up a conciliation forum on Saturday, aggrieved home-buyers can now look forward to an early and amicable resolution of their disputes with builders.

The conciliation forum, which will cut out the delays due to long legal wrangles, aims to provide quick dispute resolution to affected homebuyers at low cost.

“Provisions of the RERA Act provide for such an Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) for disputes. The purpose is to redress the grievances and if this can happen hassle-free through conciliation, nothing like it,” said a UPRERA official.

The real estate watchdog has chosen two former bureaucrats, namely, RD Paliwal and Mani

Prasad Mishra as members of this newly-constituted conciliation forum.

While Paliwal has worked with UPRERA chairman Rajive Kumar – he was officer on special duty when Kumar was chief secretary – MP Mishra retired recently as home secretary.

“Both the officers have been hired for a period of one year,

which is extendable by another 12 months depending upon their performance and disposal of complaints,” said the official.

With more than 4,500 complaints – their number is rising steadily each day - the authorities desperately needed an alternative platform to ease the burden. Incidentally, UP becomes second state after Maharashtra to set up such a forum.

“Section 32 (g) of RERA provides for such conciliation, which is an Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) for disputes under RERA,” says senior high court lawyer Shailendra Singh Chauhan. “The concept was mooted by several consumers association and bodies when RERA was still in a conceptual state,” said senior town planner Ravi Jain.

UPRERA officials feel forum would not only help in fast tracking disposal of harried homebuyers’ complaints and provide them quick resolution of their dispute but also ease the burden of civil and high courts.

The regulatory authority has also appointed two retired executive engineers as technical advisors but deferred the appointment of legal advisors. A fresh notification to fill up the vacancies for which would be put out soon.