The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has recovered compensation worth ₹200.23 crore from real estate developers who had failed to hand over possession of housing units to homebuyers on time.
According to MahaRERA, out of the total ₹200.23 crore recovered, ₹46.47 crore were recovered from Mumbai city, ₹76.33 crore from Mumbai suburban, ₹39.10 crore from Pune, ₹11.65 crore from Thane, ₹9.65 crore from Nagpur, ₹7.49 crore from Raigad, ₹4.49 crore from Palghar, ₹3.84 crore from Sambhajinagar, ₹1.12 crore from Nashik and ₹9 lakh from Chandrapur.
MahaRERA has so far issued 1,163 warrants worth ₹705.62 crore involving 442 real estate projects in Maharashtra. Of this, the MahaRERA has recovered around 29% or around ₹200 crore. Around ₹200 crore worth of compensation has so far been recovered from 283 recovery warrants issued to 139 real estate projects, MahaRERA said in a statement.
MahaRERA issues recovery orders against real estate developers in case of default in handing over possession of property to homebuyers. The execution of recovery warrants has to be conducted by the respective district collectors of the area.
"To make the recovery more effective, MahaRERA has decided to appoint retired Tahsildars in the offices of the District Collectorates in Mumbai suburban and Pune. They will be appointed with the help of the respective district authorities, where the cases and amount of recovery are high," MahaRERA said in a statement.
In Mumbai suburban, about ₹228.12 crore are yet to be recovered from 355 complaints from 73 projects, and in the Pune region the amount stands at ₹150.72 crore from 201 complaints across 89 projects. Based on the response to this recovery, MahaERA will initiate measures to appoint the officials in other district collectorates as well, the statement read.
"MahaRERA, on various complaints, issues orders regularly to compensate aggrieved homebuyers. MahaRERA's role is to ensure that the compensation ordered is received by the aggrieved homebuyers, for them to get adequate legal and financial relief. To facilitate this, MahaRERA has appointed a retired senior officer from the revenue department. Therefore, this process of recovery has gained momentum," said Manoj Saunik, chairman of MahaRERA.
"To further enhance the effectiveness of this process, MahaRERA has decided to appoint retired Tahsildars on a pilot basis in the offices of the District Collectorates in Mumbai suburban and Pune, where there are more recovery cases as well as high arrears. Depending on the need, similar appointments will be considered in other districts as well," Saunik added.