So far a lot has been said about the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA). But still what remains untold is Bengal Government’s final take on this consumer-friendly Act.
The earlier speculations indicated that West Bengal Govt. might introduce the Housing Industry Regulation Act (HIRA) by the end of 2017. Around so much buildup stories, finally West Bengal Govt. has chosen to boycott the Act and decided to bring in its own set of law after two long years.
RERA came into action primarily to safeguard buyers’ interest and to save the country’s economy from the major harm caused by unregulated and unaccounted cash circulation from the second highest GDP contributing sector- Real Estate. The Act also was made to have a close track on the integrity parameter of the stakeholders.
Additionally, the recent amendment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has further reinforced buyers’ authority and placed them on the same page with institutional leaders, in case the builder seeks for insolvency.
Still, many of the state governments have chosen to stand by the age-old seller- centric infrastructure, where builders used to have the lead role.
The central Act permitted states to tweak the paraphernalia barring the key provisions of the Act. Where most of the states have already established the Act, prioritizing the buyers’ protection fact; Bengal Govt. has chosen to start it from the beginning.
Yet, the state version of RERA is nothing but an inclusion of a few small, symmetrical changes in the central’s Act and it has left the builder’s body satisfied.
A couple of mention-worthy inclusions are:
- State government holds the authority to declare under what condition/ which circumstances builders fail to deliver the projects on time.
- West Bengal builders can use an open space inside the housing society for building flats or even they can sell it as parking lots without any institutional go-ahead.
“Government’s decision comes from an in-depth R&D. Undoubtedly, state builders will be benefited under this regime; but it would be interesting to see how the Act watches over the buyers’ interest,”- says Mahesh Somani, Chairman – National RERA Committee, National Association of Realtors, India.
-By LNN (Liyans News Network)