In the City of Mumbai & Thane – Where
Land costs equals to Gold & per sq feet rates of Flat are costlier than the
rates of per carat of diamonds. In times when property prices have shot up through
the roof unscrupulous builders don't think twice about cheating
their clients. But soon they'll find it harder to get away.
Taking note of a growing number
of complaints against crooked builders, the state government has
decided to bring in amendments to the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act that
will ensure heavier fines and jail terms for rogue developers.
To add teeth to the new provisions, a committee will be formed to look into complaints relating to
housing, one which will have the powers of a civil court. Appeals against
the decisions of this committee will have to be taken to the Bombay High
Court, said officials connected to the initiative. The new
committee, which will be given wide-ranging powers, will put an end to problems
faced by those buying homes.
While earlier,
disputes between home owners/buyers and developers were directed to the consumer or
civil courts (police stations have generally shied away from
filing criminal complaints in cases relating to housing), under the new
provisions builders can be sent to jail for between
six months and a year, while fines will range
from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
Also, under the new plan, builders will
have to register their projects with the new committee following
which they will be given a code. Only after receiving this code can builders
sell flats.
Chief Minister
Prithviraj Chavan has
repeatedly taken on the builders’ lobby since taking over as Chief Minister of the State. He had
already insisted on all sales being based on carpet area
rather than built-up or super built-up areas, saying it was easy
for builders to use these terms and dupe purchasers.
This new initiative
comes after the state government hit roadblocks in introducing the Real Estate
Regulatory Authority Act, which has been strongly opposed by the
builder community.
I think pending the
enactment of “Real Estate Regulatory Authority Act 2011” This new
move can see the light of day soon because amending a law is easier than
bringing about a wholly new law says Adv. R. P. Rathod.
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