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Real estate regulatory body
For quality: Housing sector badly needs a monitor
If you want to buy an insurance policy, you have to purchase the policy from an insurance agent recognised by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority. If you want to invest in fixed deposits, you have to follow RBI guidelines.
If one wants to invest in shares then there are SEBI guidelines for regulation. However, when a person is on the verge of making the most significant investment in his or her life i.e. buying a house, there is no regulatory body.
A paradoxical situation indeed, which has led to lack of professionalism and has brought builders and brokers of all kinds, who are not aware of basic rules and facts of civil engineering, into the picture.
According to Union Minister for Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy by next year a real estate regulatory body would be in place to protect interests of consumers. However, consumer rights experts have reservations over the proposed regulatory body. “Will the regulatory body be allowed to run by people who do not have vested interests? Will the huge lobby of builders and brokers allow the regulatory body to come in the first place?” asks consumer activist N. Ganesan of Consumer Care Centre.
However, several builders feel that a regulatory body would go a long way in bringing transparency. “It’s like providing guarantee to the consumer. We also came to know that some kind of control would be exercised over pre-launch offers to stop builders from taking consumers for a ride before taking project clearances,” says the president of Builders Forum for Andhra Pradesh, C. Shekhar Reddy.
Builders’ version
Certain sections in the builders’ community also point out that the regulatory body can help builders.
“What will the builder do when the customer pulls out or pays for the project irregularly? The honest builder suffers and is not able to complete his project on time. So, in addition to the consumer, the regulatory body would also help builders involved in some high quality projects,” points out a builder.
M. SAI GOPAL
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