With the real estate sector contributing around 10 per cent to the total cases in consumer commissions, the Department of Consumer Affairs will on Tuesday organise a round table conference in Mumbai to discuss ways to redress the grievances of property buyers.
According to an official statement, the Department of Consumer Affairs is organising a round table conference on “How to effectively redress the grievances pertaining to the real estate Sector” in Mumbai on April 18.
The conference will be organised in association with the Maharashtra government.
Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, will chair the conference.
“Pertinently, Real Estate cases comprise around 10 per cent of the total cases in Consumer Commissions. So far, since inception, 2,30,517 cases have been filed by the consumers in various consumer commissions, 1,76,895 cases have been disposed of till now, and 53,622 cases are pending,” the statement said.
Despite separate tribunals, such as RERA and NCLT, to deal with the cases pertaining to the housing sector, the pendency of cases is rising in various consumer commissions, the department said.
“It is for the first time, the Department is conducting such a large-scale conference to redress the consumer grievance in the real estate sector,” the statement said.
The conference will discuss — systemic policy interventions required to reduce litigation in the housing sector. In this regard, the cases filed in the Consumer Commissions would be analysed, and major factors that result in consumer cases will be identified and presented for deliberations.
“In addition, why more number of cases are filed before Consumer Commissions despite there being separate authorities, such as RERA, for specifically dealing (with) the cases pertaining to the housing sector will also be discussed. Meanwhile, deliberation on how to ensure that the housing sector cases are dealt with in an effective and speedy manner will also be done,” the statement said.
Members of the National Commission, Presidents of State Commissions of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh and Gujarat; President of the RERA Appellate Tribunal Maharashtra; RERA Chairmen from Delhi and Maharashtra; Presidents of District Commissions of Delhi, Bengaluru, Thane, Pune, Raigad and Chandigarh are likely to participate in the conference.
Representatives from MOHUA (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs), RERA, IBBI, Government of Maharashtra, ASCI, and all the VCOs (voluntary consumer organisations) and builders fraternity will also be present.
Homebuyers’ body Forum For People’s Collective Efforts (FPCE) President Abhay Upadhyay, who is also an invitee to the conference, has welcomed the move to organise such an event.
He hoped that the department will frame a legal framework to ensure that homebuyers get speedy resolution of their disputes.
“We are all aware that despite the regulator in place for the sector after the enactment of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, (RERA) malpractices prevalent in the sector have not completely come to an end.
“We are also witnessing that homebuyers are running pillar to post for justice even after having favourable orders from RERA as builders are refusing to obey the orders of RERA, and sadly even after six years of full implementation of RERA, we have failed to find a solution for this burning issue,” Upadhyay had said earlier this month.