A month after the last date for registration of construction projects with Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in the State, compliance rate is still less than 25%. As of August 24, of the estimated 4,000 projects that have to register, only 977 had applied, of which RERA has approved only 12 to date.
The regulatory authority issued a public notice on Monday giving what officials described as ‘a last window of opportunity’ for registration. The new deadline is August 31.
Though the deadline as per RERA Act ended on July 31, RERA Karnataka is yet to impose penalties. However, all that is expected to change after the expiry of the new deadline, said Kapil Mohan, the interim chairman. “After August 31, defaulting promoters/agents will be identified they will be liable to heavy penalties, which can be up to 10% of the project cost,” he said.
RERA has collated a list of ongoing and new projects from all urban local bodies of the State, which adds up to 4,000 projects, sources said.
Suresh Hari, vice president, CREDAI Bengaluru said that while most builders in the organised sector had already registered, small players and fly-by-night operators are proving to be difficult to tame. “Many may have built projects with several violations, which may prompt them to dodge the regulatory authority,” he said.
However, activists who fought for RERA in the State are unhappy.
M.S. Shankar, leading Fight for RERA–Karnataka Chapter, said that despite several directions from the Union government, the law is far from being implemented in letter and spirit in the State. “Except issuing directions, RERA is not flexing its muscle to rein in developers. Instead of rejecting incomplete applications, RERA is serving notices to builders to provide further documentation giving an uncalled-for window of opportunity for developers,” he explained.
RERA has served 55 notices, all of which pertain to missing documents, sources said.
Significantly, activists pointed out that the notices were not served in the name of the project but that of the developer, to keep home-buyers in the dark.
Fight for RERA–Karnataka Chapter has already lodged a complaint with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Subordinate Legislation on the dilution of RERA and ineffective implementation. Fight for RERA, a national forum, has been trying to meet the prime minister to seek a mechanism for effective implementation of the Act in States.
GFX
RERA Act
Came into force across the country on May 1
Deadline for registration was July 31
In Karnataka
Notified rules on July 6
RERA formed and website launched in third week of July
Estimated number of projects eligible: 4,000
700+ projects had registered by July 31
No. of projects registered by August 24: 977
Compliance rate: less than 25%
New deadline: August 31
Non-compliance to attract a fine of up to 10% of the project cost
