The association also suggested that if Lok Adalats are to function in any state, they should be encouraged to function rather than as a conciliation forum. Image: Bloomberg
Homebuyers’ association FPCE has questioned Maharashtra’s real estate regulator MahaRERA’s decision to constitute and be part of a conciliation forum to resolve disputes between builders and customers, saying the law does not grant such power and the move may lead to a potential conflict of interest.
People’s Forum for Collective Efforts (PFCE) president Abhay Upadhyay wrote a letter on August 19 to Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Additional Secretary Satinder Pal Singh objecting to the conciliation forum constituted by MahaRERA and its “suspicious functioning”.
The association has asked the Ministry to investigate the constitution of this forum, its operation and also the resolutions issued, to determine whether the forum favours the builders.
“The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has constituted a Conciliation Forum for amicable settlement of disputes between the developer of real estate projects and the allottee under Section 32 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA).
“Section 32 of RERA merely gives advisory power to the authorities and not the power to constitute such a forum itself,” Upadhyay said.
The association has suggested that the Ministry should issue guidelines to the states after due consultations with all stakeholders for the constitution and functioning of the conciliation forum.
“It is important to ensure that the conciliation forum so constituted is independent, uniform and composed of impartial and reputable persons on the basis of selection criteria,” Upadhyay said.
The FPCE stressed the need to ensure that RERA authorities do not form part, directly or indirectly, of the said conciliation forum in order to avoid any “possible conflict of interest.”
The association also suggested that if Lok Adalats function in any state, then that should be encouraged instead of the conciliation forum.
“In view of the serious allegations against the MahaRERA conciliation forum, it is our humble request that your Ministry should look into the constitution, functioning and orders of the conciliation forum to ascertain whether its conduct and entire ecosystem is in favour of the builders,” the association said.
The ministry should ask all state RERA authorities to keep the functioning of the conciliation forum suspended till detailed guidelines from the Union Ministry are sent to them, he said.
The FPCE said MahaRERA has exceeded its powers under the Act and “has given rise to a conflict of interest.”
“Needless to say, this has been done under the influence and for the benefit of the builders, which is abundantly clear when one looks at the composition of the MahaRERA Conciliation Forum,” the FPCE said.
The association noted that only one organisation representing consumers and three organisations representing builders are members of this forum.
“If you dig a little deeper, you will find that there are only two individual representatives for consumers and six individual representatives for builders, i.e. an unbalanced constitution in favour of builders,” the letter said.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 25, 2024 | 16:48 IS
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