Customers are irritated by the slow execution of MahaRERA recovery orders.

PUNE: Arun Seth (78) has been waiting nearly four years for revenue officials to execute a recovery warrant issued by MahaRERA against the contractor for the delay in ensuring possession of an apartment he purchased in Mumbai.

“We had reserved a 550-square-foot one-bedroom flat in Malad in 2011. The developer and I reached an agreement for the project in 2014, and we were supposed to take possession in June 2015. However, because of the delay in possession, we requested a refund from MahaRera. The refund order for Rs78 lakh was issued in April 2019. However, the wait continues “He stated.

Seth, who has been transferring between the Mumbai Suburban Collectorate and the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) authorities to complete his work since 2019, stated, “The revenue officials had previously stated that they would be unable to carry out the order due to the Covid pandemic. Neither the revenue officials nor the MahaRERA authorities have moved. The tehsildar was told to complete the order by the end of 2019. However, nothing happened.”

A resident of Pune stated that the developer from whom he purchased the property had agreed to settle the amount to be paid to him after he obtained the recovery warrant. “However, the builder has yet to meet with us. The auction has been halted, according to the revenue authorities. In the absence of follow-ups from either MahaRERA or profits authorities, many recovery warrants end up in cold storage. The aggrieved homebuyers are made to go the rounds in search of a favorable order “said the customer.

According to data on the MahaRERA website, 773 recovery warrant orders from 13 of the state’s districts have been issued against 302 projects in the state until August 2022. The total recovery warrant amount for these projects is Rs729.7 crore, with the highest recoveries and listed projects coming from the collectorates of Pune, Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad.

According to an official in Pune, 10 recovery warrant orders have been issued. Five of these orders have entered the settlement stage. As a result, the process did not proceed to the auction stage, according to the official. Five orders had to be returned to the MahaRERA authorities because “the properties could not be traced for auction,” according to the official.

According to Ramesh Prabhu, chairperson of the Maharashtra Society Welfare Association, revenue officials must initiate the recovery process under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966. According to him, the collectors must start the process and forward it to the tehsildars.

“This takes years, and homebuyers are once again forced to approach the HC to file a writ petition and have the order executed within a reasonable time frame. This is not possible for everyone who has used their life savings and borrowed money to buy a home “He stated.

Last week, the Bombay High Court issued contempt notices to Mumbai suburban district administration officials for failing to comply with earlier orders to execute recovery warrants against promoters of a Malad project (West).
Manjunath Kakkalameli, a practicing HC advocate, stated that Section 40 (1) of RERA was not as impactful as the rules and orders recommended under civil or criminal procedures. “Large orders are held, and the revenue department places less emphasis on RERA orders. Provisions for recovery are only on paper unless there is a good recovery mechanism in place “He informed TOI.