MahaRERA recovers just ₹175 crore as compensation for homebuyers

MahaRERA has recovered ₹175 crore of ₹672.91 crore owed by developers for failing to deliver apartments, enhancing recovery efforts with new appointments

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has recovered compensation of ₹175 crore so far out of ₹672.91 crore dues from real estate developers, who have failed to handover possession of the apartments to homebuyers, thus causing undue hardships to them.

So far, MahaRERA has issued 1,117 warrants to 423 housing projects to recover ₹672.91 crore (Bachchan Kumar/HT PHOTO)

MahaRERA issues recovery warrants to developers to ensure that those who fail to pay compensation or refund amounts as ordered by the authority are held accountable. In order to improve its penalty recovery rate, MahaRERA is in the process of appointing a retired tehsildar.

With the new appointment of a retired tehsildar, the recovery process is expected to improve further, sources told Hindustan Times.

So far, MahaRERA has issued 1,117 warrants to 423 housing projects to recover ₹672.91 crore, of which it has managed to get a total of ₹175 crore from 131 projects, linked to 268 complaints.

In case of any wrongdoing, and after conducting hearings involving the opposing parties, the MahaRERA orders developers to compensate or refund the sum with interest within a prescribed timeframe. In case if a developer defaults in paying compensation, the collector’s office plays a crucial role in recovering the amount.

With the numbers piling up and homebuyers unhappy with the overall outcome, MahaRERA had appointed a retired collector in January 2023, and a retired additional collector to ensure speedy recovery. The retired additional collector’s role is to be in touch with all the concerned collectors, deputy collectors, tehsildars and talatis, who coordinate compensation recovery in every district of Maharashtra.

From January 2023 onwards until now, MahaRERA has managed to recover ₹141 crore. To make compensation recovery more effective, in the warrant, the developer’s bank account number is being shared with the Revenue Department starting this year to trace the builder.

From across Maharashtra, the highest number of complaints are from the Mumbai suburban district at 438 from 114 projects having a cumulative outstanding of ₹302.54 crore. So far, ₹75.10 crore has been recovered in 84 complaints from 42 projects. Pune is the second highest with 248 complaints to recover an outstanding of ₹183.58 crore from 125 projects. Of these, 57 complaints worth ₹39.10 crore from 36 projects have been recovered.