Mumbai:
As consumers in Mumbai continue to be fooled and looted by some builders, the UPA government has started the process of formulating a law to protect home buyers. The Cabinet has cleared the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Bill.
Last year, an RTI reply revealed that the maximum number of complaints received by consumer forums in Mumbai were against the housing sector. Of the 24,278 complaints, 7,499 were against housing. And the largest number came from Thane at 4,670, which has seen a lot of construction in recent years.
Asif Chand Shaikh, an Income Tax Consultant, had bought a flat in 2002. He paid the entire amount of Rs 10 lakh after the agreement with the builder was registered. But he did not get possession. After approaching the consumer forum he got an order in his favour. In spite of that, he has not got his flat. Ten years on, his battle with the builder continues.
Vasudev Gujre is slowly losing hope in the system. "I am 78 years old. I don't know whether I will get justice. In spite of an order in my favour I have not got possession of my flat," he told NDTV. The abandoned project, which was to house his dream home, today has just one floor that houses a few shops.
Both Mr Gujre and Mr Shaikh have not been able to bring the builders to book in spite of consumer forum ruling in their favour.
Many feel that the new law will not change things. Real Estate Lawyer Kaiser Ansary says "This is just a change of nomenclature. All the provisions that are there in the Real Estate Bill are there in state laws. But unfortunately there is no proper implementation of it."
But some feel the law is a step forward towards protecting home buyers. Ramesh Nair, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle says, "This is a good pro-consumer bill. It takes care of all the basic issues that buyers have. But it will affect supply. Also if implemented along with the land acquisition bill, it will have greater impact."
For this bill to become law, it has to go through time consuming parliamentary process. But with elections next year the government wants to show that the United Progressive Alliance is batting for the urban middle class. And this bill is one more way to do so.