J&K Real Estate Regulatory Authority which was headless in December 2022 is still Headless in Dec 2023

DAYA SAGAR

No postal address of The J&K Real Estate Regulatory Authority is in public domain on date where the real estate buyers and real estate promoters of flats / plots can approach for registration of their grievances / problems/ issues /projects or for obtaining any guidance in the related matters. No doubt Secretary / Commissioner J&K Housing and Urban Department could be considered to be the agency where one can approach but looking at bulk of the requirements of JOBs to be performed by RERA no one should expect that an ex-officio authority could take on the requirements on regular basis. In December 2022 when no information about the status of appointment of Chairman RERA & Members and the location of office of the RERA in Jammu could be obtained from J&K Housing and Urban Development Department ([email protected], [email protected],: [email protected] ) grievance quarries were raised on JK Grievance cell (awazaawam.uniso.in/ AwazAAwam/index.aspx) on 16-12-2022 G. No 999001268968 / on 02-01-2023 G No 999003861258 /on 27-04-2023 GN0 999001268975 / on 30-04-2023 G No 999003867993 about status of J&K Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) / joining of Parimal Rai IAS ( Retd) as Chairman of RERA and at last it was on 25th May 2023 that the JK Grievance portal finally conveyed status with reference of Housing and Urban Development Department as (” Vide Notification No 357 dated 01.08.2022 Primal Rai, IAS (Retd) was appointed as Chairman RERA. However, because of some personal reasons the Officer submitted his resignation which was accepted by the authorities and from the date of resignation of the Chairman RERA the Authority is headless, therefore the authority is not functional as on date. As regards operationalize of the authority it is submitted that only web portal of the Authority is being handled by the J&K Housing Board and rest of the functionality of the authority is not being handled by any of the authorities/ organizations”.
No any other appointment order for the Chairman and members of RERA is in public domain and the website of RERA (https://rera.jk.gov.in or https://rera.jk.gov.in/login/login_viewlogin ) too has no reference of any order other than the one that was issued in favour of Vide Primal Rai, (Notification No 357 dated 01.08.2022 ) which means no appointment has been made after Primal Rai resigned / did not join.
The RERA website does mentions that PURPOSE to establish the Real Estate Regulatory Authority is for regulation and promotion of the Real Estate sector, to ensure transparency in projects. to protect the interest of consumers in the Real Estate Sector and to establish an adjudicating mechanism for speedy dispute redressal & to provide proper information about the Builder & . to provide recommendations to appropriate Government on/ in matters relating to the development & promotion of real estate sector. The site also makes the people know that Real Estate Regulatory Authority, is a government body to be approached for redressal of grievances against any builder and the RERA ACT vests authority on the real estate regulator to govern both residential and commercial real estate transactions / Act makes it mandatory for developers to post all information on issues such as project plan, layout, government approvals, land title status, sub-contractors to the project, schedule for completion with the State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and then passing information on to the consumers. One could well imagine the fall outs with respect to the estate / flat buyers due to the J&K Government not having been able to provide the umbrella of RERA to the real estate sector consumers where among other covers / protections the RER&D Act 2016 also provides particularly Section- 14.3 :- “In case any structural defect or any other defect in workmanship, quality or provision of services or any other obligations of the promoter as per the agreement for sale relating to such development is brought to the notice of the promoter within a period of five years by the allottee from the date of handing over possession, it shall be the duty of the promoter to rectify such defects without further charge, within thirty days, and in the event of promoter’s failure to rectify such defects within such time, the aggrieved allottees shall be entitled to receive appropriate compensation in the manner as provided under this Act.
RER&D Act 2016 also lays down a maximum jail term for a developer who violates the order of the appellate tribunal of the RERA as three years with or without a fine Currently. Now, the law also ensures that any delay in project completion will make the developer liable to pay the same interest as the EMI being paid by the consumer to the bank back to the consumer. The developer cannot make any changes to the plan that had been sold without the written consent of the buyer. Every project measuring more than 500 square meters or more than eight apartments will have to be registered with the RERA .
But No RERA in UT of J&K even when we are landing in 2024 even when The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 makes it mandatory provision for establishing Real Estate Regulatory Authority ( RERA) in each State for regulation of the Real Estate Sector and particularly for securing the interests of the buyers of services from real estate project promoters.
(The author is Sr Journalist, social activist and analyst J&K affairs).