Speculations for today’s launch of the RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Act) website in Uttar Pradesh has apartment owners of Ghaziabad and Noida cheering. The website will contain details of all real estate projects registered with the state real estate regulatory authority and will be accessible to the general public.
Speaking to City Spidey, Alok Kumar, patron of Federation of Apartment Owners Association (FedAoA), Ghaziabad, and a RERA activist himself, said the state government had finally made some progress in enforcing RERA. “Earlier homebuyers and flat owners did not have a dedicated platform for approaching the government about the issues regarding their property. Even the development authorities did not have any particular department for addressing these issues. Now that the RERA website is coming up, the development authority will be more responsible about the issues,” said Kumar. ghaziabad news
The FedAOA had had earlier filed a PIL at the Allahabad High Court targeting the state government's delay in RERA. “The PIL has been heard thrice and at the last hearing, the court had assured us of some action before the fourth hearing. UP is already behind many other states in RERA. Although a bit delayed, it has finally come,” Kumar further added.
FedAOA is set to conduct interactive sessions with experts, flat owners and new buyers.
RERA came into effect at the Centre on May 1, and ever since, activists from various states have been mounting pressure on the state governments to implement it at the state level.
The registrations will happen through online applications and will be done under the state RERA rules that were passed in December 2016. Noida Local News
Dhananjay Kumar Singh, a resident of Ajnara Grand Heritage in Sector 74, Noida, is of the opinion that the ultimate onus of RERA lies in its true implementation, as it brings builders under its ambit. “One of the main benefits of the website is that builders will be forced to display project-related information to the common people. Earlier we had to run from pillar to post and file dozens of RTIs to get information on the projects as the builder did not want to disclose this. I myself have made over 35 visits this year to Noida Authority just to find project-related information,” Singh added.
Under the state's RERA rules, ongoing projects that have filed for occupancy certificates will not come under the ambit of the new law. Abhishek Kumar, a member of Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (NEFOWA) is of the opinion that although the previous government had diluted much of RERA’s powers while implementing it at the state level, the website could bring about transparency in the market. “Since the website is set to contain details of the various projects, it will surely benefit homebuyers. But we still demand that all builders that do not have proper completion certificates be brought under the ambit of RERA,” Kumar added.
The RERA website is expected to make builders accountable and transparent in their conduct. Homebuyers and investors of the real estate market feel that it can lead to renewed confidence in buyers who are sceptical about the quality of construction and the timely completion of projects, particularly in areas such as Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar, which have a high concentration of high-rise societies. RERA has provisions for heavy penalties if a developer doesn’t stick to promises made to buyers while selling property.
