BENGALURU: With the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) stepping into its sixth year on Sunday (July 10), a critical assessment of its impact in the state reveals that it needs to travel a long distance before it turns into a powerful tool in the hands of buyers.
Look at these statistics given by a senior RERA official --- Out of a total of nearly Rs 268 crore ordered to be paid as compensation by errant builders by home buyers who approached the K-RERA court for justice, just Rs 16 crore has been paid as on date. This in turn translates to the verdict being honoured by promoters in just 48 cases out of 664 handled.
Of the 6,993 complaints received by the authority, just 3,381 have been heard so far. This again accounts to less than 50 per cent of home buyers getting any justice from it. MS Shankar, general secretary, Forum for People’s Collective Efforts -- which has been at the forefront in the struggle of home buyers, in a letter submitted to the chief minister and housing minister, among others, states, “In the past five years, the failures and shortcomings of RERA have outweighed benefits derived from it by a wide margin.”
He appealed to the government for to review the functioning of K-RERA and take corrective action. Referring to the 3,381 cases disposed of by RERA, he says, “There is no transparency and accountability on the cases in which judgement has been given as to whether the builders have complied with them. What is the use of such judgement when it is not executed or the refund is not made within the stipulated timelines?”
RERA was being touted as a transformative legislation to ensure regulation and promotion of the real estate sector in an efficient, transparent and accountable manner and to protect the interest of homebuyers, Shankar said. “But there is no transparent and accountable data in the webpage of the K-RERA,” he pointed out.
Dhananjaya Padmanabachar of Karnataka Home Buyers’ Forum too said K-RERA has failed to live up to its objectives. “The chairman never responds to mails or our official communication through post. I have submitted more than ten letters so far and got no response. “ The one positive aspect is that public are able to know which builders have complaints and this puts them on guard a bit.
RERA Chairman HC Kishore Chandra, who is said to be inaccessible to home buyers, told TNIE that he would speak about the milestone reached by his organisation only after the weekend. Housing Minister V Somanna could not be reached despite repeated attempts to get his comments.