The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) with the help of other state authorities, has managed to recover just less than one-fourth of the total compensation that the affected homebuyers are supposed to receive.
As per the data available with The Free Press Journal, a total of Rs 413.79 crore is supposed to be recovered through 594 warrants issued. These 594 cases or warrants are from the areas of Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburbs, Pune and Raigad districts. It excludes the rest of the districts of Maharashtra where similar warrants have been issued or executed or yet to be executed.
Of the total Rs413.79 crore that is supposed to be recovered and benefit the affected homebuyers, only Rs100.56 crore have been recovered from 118 warrants issued in these four districts of Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburbs, Pune and Raigad.
“As part of strengthening the system, from December onwards the MahaRERA has begun reviewing the warrants announced from time to time. For this, reminders and request letters are sent to the 13 district collectors of Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburb, Thane, Pune Raigad, Palghar, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Nashik, Chandrapur, Sindhudurg, Satara and Ratnagiri,” said a MahaRERA official.
In Mumbai City, a recovery of Rs11.42 crore was made from the three warrants instead of the required Rs44.92 crore against 14 warrants. Similarly, Rs245.84 crore is supposed to be recovered from 343 warrants in Suburban Mumbai, but only Rs55.57 crore was recovered in 80 of these cases. In Pune, a total of 163 warrants worth Rs107.93 crore were issued but only Rs32.76 crore have been recovered under 33 warrants. In Raigad district, total 74 warrants were issued for the recovery of Rs15.10 crore, against which only Rs81 lakh have been recovered from just 2 warrants.
The complaints of home buyers wary from non-handover of possession in time by the builders, abandoning projects and non-maintenance of prescribed quality, among others. Depending upon the merits of the case, the order is issued towards compensation.
The process of recovery is entrusted to the respective Collectors, Deputy Collectors, and Tehsildars of the respective districts. The housing regulation permits a prescribed time frame for the errant developer to pay the compensation amount or refund and in several cases even interest component. When the amount remains unpaid, a warrant is issued for the Collector to recover the amount on behalf of the homeowner. The law authorises the Collector’s office to recover arrears of land revenue.
