Q. One of my friends has received a notice from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to vacate his home on the ground that the building is “unauthorised” hence needs to be demolished. My friend had booked the flat after the project received MahaRERA registration. Why is a buyer, who made the booking based on MahaRERA registration, staring at the demolition of house? Did MahaRERA not verify the authenticity of the commencement certificate (CC)? What action can the authority take apart from revoking the registration? Will Mumbai Grahak Panchayat help such people who are facing demolition of their homes for no fault of theirs?
—Archana Pangaonkar, Borivili
A. Same questions are haunting nearly 6,500 families in 58 buildings in Kalyan-Dombivli despite there being MahaRERA registration. In a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by architect Sandeep Patil in November 2022, it was brought to the notice of Bombay High Court that MahaRERA had registered these 58 projects without verifying the authenticity of the CCs, which were later on found to be forged.
When this fact was brought to the notice of the regulatory authority, the registration of all these projects was revoked. It is learnt that the KDMC affirmed on affidavit that these CCs were not issued by it. The high court, based on this affidavit, directed the KDMC chief to raze these unauthorised buildings within three months. MahaRERA must own the responsibility for this huge fraud played on it by some unscrupulous builders.
The body has now decided to verify the authenticity of these documents submitted by builders before granting registration. However, that does not address the problems being faced by these innocent buyers who trusted MahaRERA. In such a situation, MahaRERA should invoke provisions under section 7 (4) (f) of RERA to issue directions, as it may deem necessary, to protect the interest of these buyers. It also needs to explore possibilities of regularising these buildings instead of demolition. For this purpose, MahaRERA will be well within its jurisdiction to seek review of the court order directing demolition and a stay order pending such review. Sections 60 and 61 of RERA empowers the regulatory authority to impose a penalty up to 5% of the project cost for producing bogus and forged documents and thereby violating section 4 of RERA.
MahaRERA must also initiate criminal proceedings against such fraudulent builders to restore public confidence in itself, which has been badly shaken with this entire episode. In case these buildings are to be demolished, then surely the affected allottees can claim refund of the entire amounts along with the interest and compensation by filing complaints with MahaRERA under sections 18 (1), (2) & (3) of RERA. For this purpose, the authority must ensure that these builders are immediately arrested and are not allowed to abscond or sell their properties in any way.
Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) will surely help affected buyers. They must approach the secretary, MGP, by emailing their details on mpanchayat@gmail.com. They may also visit MGP office at Grahak Bhavan, Sant Dnyaneshwar Marg, JVPD Scheme, near Cooper Hospital, Vile Parle (W) on any Thursday between 2.30- 4.30pm.
(Advocate Shirish V Deshpande is chairman, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat. Queries can be sent to him on email: shirish50@yahoo.com)
