Big decision for home buyers, digital database to be prepared to stop fraud in real estate sector

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Real Estate: The government is soon going to start a digital database, which will have information about all real estate projects in India. This step will prove to be very beneficial for home buyers. Because, with the help of this, it will help to avoid fraud and choose the right project. This database will include all the necessary information about the project such as details like approval, construction progress and reliability of builders.

Purpose of the portal

Through this portal, people will now be able to easily get complete information about the project of any builder across the country and its current status. This step is a big relief especially for those home buyers who have been victims of project delays and fraud despite the existence of the RERA law.

Why was the decision taken?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently reprimanded RERA and state officials over complaints from home buyers. However, this decision has been taken only a few weeks after that. The Prime Minister had expressed concern over the arbitrariness of builders and lack of proper redressal of consumer complaints. Later, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched the new portal at the RERA Central Advisory Council (CAC) meeting. The main objective of this database is to provide complete information to potential buyers so that they can take an informed decision.

Controversy over Maharashtra law

Another important issue was raised in this meeting. Representatives of home buyers strongly opposed the Maharashtra government's Housing Policy 2025. Under this policy, the Maharashtra government is planning to bring a separate law like RERA for redevelopment projects. This is the reason why Abhay Upadhyay of the Forum for People's Collective Efforts (FPCE) has sought immediate intervention from the Centre to stop this move. Because, this step will weaken the uniform structure of RERA and this will give builders an opportunity to do 'forum shopping' i.e. choose the law according to their benefit. After that, other states will also make such different laws, which will spread confusion in the entire real estate sector. In the case of West Bengal, the Supreme Court had already struck down one such law, which was challenged by FPCE.

Emphasis on 'next-gen' reforms

The Housing Ministry said in an official statement that the Council had given several suggestions to strengthen RERA. These include strict implementation of RERA orders and banning misleading advertisements. Along with this, emphasis was also placed on measures like expediting registration in RERA, ensuring compliance with orders and bringing clarity in definitions. The Council also recommended that after the completion of eight years of RERA, the focus should now be on 'next generation' reforms. Not only this, the ministry will now work on the necessary measures to make RERA more effective.