BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) has withdrawn its earlier order imposing penalties on real estate firms for delayed or non-submission of quarterly progress reports (QPR) and annual audit certificates (AAC).
In a notification on May 20, the authority stated that its previous order issued on November 21, 2023 has been withdrawn with immediate effect.
The 2023 order prescribed penalties of Rs 5,000 for every missed quarter and Rs 10,000 for subsequent defaults in submission of QPR and AAC by registered real estate projects.
Under the QPR norm, builders are required to submit quarterly updates disclosing construction milestones, geo-tagged progress photographs, unit booking status and details of financial account transfers related to their registered projects. The provision was introduced to ensure transparency and protect home-buyers by allowing public access to project progress.
The order invited criticism with real estate expert and RERA activist Bimalendu Pradhan terming the move ‘builder-friendly’ and demanded an immediate rollback.
“While other states are treating timely QPR submission with seriousness and enforcing strict compliance, the ORERA appears to be busy rolling out measures that favour builders at the cost of transparency and home-buyer protection,” Pradhan alleged.
ORERA chairperson Asit Kumar Mohapatra, however, told TNIE that the withdrawal is aimed at enabling the regulator to impose stricter penalties on violators. The penal provisions in the 2023 notification were too small to act as an effective deterrent, he said.
“Rs 5,000 or Rs 10,000 penalty for non-submission of QPR for a real estate project is nothing. We wanted to impose heavier penalty on the violators. However, the existing cap prevented us from doing it. Accordingly, the old notification has been withdrawn allowing us to impose a fine of up to 5 per cent of the project for delay in submission of QPR,” he said. The ORERA chairperson informed that notices have already been issued to around 110 projects for non-submission of QPR. More notices would be served and appropriate action initiated against developers violating the RERA norms.
