By-laws in final stages, RWAs for apartments in Bihar to get registered soon

The by-laws would enable the RWAs to get administrative powers to manage the affairs of the apartment complexes and take action against residents who flout rules of the association.

Apartment owners in Patna will soon be able to form and register residents’ welfare associations ( RWAs) with Bihar’s registration department as the state urban development department (UDD) is about to come up with by-laws for registration of such bodies, according to officials familiar with the matter.

An apartment complex in Patna. (HT file)

Additional chief secretary (UDD) Arunish Chawla said by-laws for registration of RWAs are being made and would be ready within next two months. “ Once the by-laws are ready, registration of RWAs can begin,” he said.

Chawla said the Patna Municipal Corporation ( PMC), which approves plans of apartments and collects holding taxes, would facilitate RWAs in their registration with the registration department. “The PMC would be helping RWAs in the process after certain formalities as it is the body which has all details of apartments,” Chawla said.

The by-laws would enable the RWAs to get administrative powers to manage the affairs of the apartment complexes and take action against residents who flout rules of the association.

Though Bihar Apartment Ownership Act came into being in 2006 and was amended in 2011, by-laws were never framed. In the absence of by-laws, the management and maintenance of apartment complexes is chaotic and arbitrary in most cases, leading to disputes among residents.

The issue was raised in the state assembly early last year by RJD legislators, then in opposition, following which the then Speaker, Vijay Kumar Sinha, had assured that the matter would be looked into.

Sinha even held a series of meetings in July last year with the UDD, registration and co-operative departments for framing by-laws for registration of the apartment associations.

However, he resigned from Speaker’s post in August last year after JD(U) realigned with RJD to form the grand alliance government.

In Patna, there are a few thousand of apartments, most of which are ill maintained because of lack of administrative powers with residents’ associations to fix maintenance or initiate action against residents who are defaulters in payment of monthly maintenance charges for upkeep of the buildings.