Real estate papers must now be displayed on the websites of Maharashtra’s local bodies.

PUNE: According to a government resolution (GR) issued by the urban development department (UDD) on Thursday, all local planning authorities must display the commencement certificate (CC) and occupancy certificate (OC) granted for new and upcoming real estate projects on their websites and notify the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) regarding the sanctions.

It also stated that they must ultimately connect their websites with the MahaRERA website by March 31.
If the aforementioned local authorities — corporations, councils, nagar panchayats, and metropolitan planning authorities — do not already have websites, they must prepare them for activation and integration by the same deadline.

According to the GR, they have been directed to email these permissions to MahaRERA until then. The orders were issued in response to a recent case in Thane in which developers used forged documents to obtain

MahaRERA enrollment for their projects. The issue of forged documents was brought to light last year when an architect and activist filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court. It drew the court’s attention to the builders, who used forged documents not only to obtain MahaRERA registrations but also to complete bookings.

After a thorough investigation, the Thane local civic body took action against over 50 builders. Furthermore, MahaRERA has suspended the registration of a large number of developers.

UDD officials confirmed that the MahaRERA authority had contacted the state government. “It is critical that these documents are made available to citizens in order for them to identify fraudulent practices,” a senior UDD official told TOI. Almost all corporations have a website, and they can have a page dedicated to this display that the public can access, according to the official.

Citizens’ groups, who have long advocated for this change, have stated that the GR should be made mandatory. Chairman of the Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association, Ramesh Prabhu, pointed out that this is an effort by UDD to ensure fraud prevention and protect the interests of homebuyers.

“It brings transparency, standardization, and making authentic information about projects available to stakeholders,” he added. Furthermore, any promoter who is having difficulty obtaining permissions or approvals in a timely manner can approach the local authority and MahaRERA.” He also stated that integrating the websites will benefit allottees.

Members of the State Housing Federation have also called for a single point of contact and an online integrated system for all real estate projects. “All updates, not only with regards to authorizations but also the growth of construction activities will also be linked, thereby helping to bring in fairness in the real estate sector,” said advocate Shreeprasad Parab from the federation.