Gurgaon homebuyers perform ‘hawan’ for divine help in RERA battle

Homebuyers have been demanding that the Haryana’s RERA rules be on the lines of those drafted by the Centre

A group of homebuyers conducted a hawan ceremony on Sunday morning at Leisure Valley Park in Gurgaon’s Sector 29.

Homebuyers held the ritual after weeks of protest against alleged dilution of RERA draft rules. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The homebuyers resorted to holding the ritual after weeks of protests demanding that the state’s rules under the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA) be on the lines of the ones drafted by the Centre.

After sending their objections to the Haryana government on the RERA draft, the homebuyers are now hoping that the state will take note of their concerns and introduce the necessary amendments to the draft.

The deadline to submit the suggestions and objections ended on May 15. The town and country planning department is authority to implement the final RERA rules after a scrutiny of the feedback it received from across the state.

“We have now turned to the Almighty to help us in this battle. Lakhs of homebuyers across the state are worried over the alleged dilution of the RERA rules by the TCP officials in Haryana. We dearly wish the government will consider our demand and make the necessary changes to the RERA draft,” Mridul Babbar, a homebuyer who performed the hawan, said.

Harinder Pal Singh, another homebuyer, said, “Homebuyers who invested in 20 realty projects across the city gathered today to perform this ritual. We are hoping for divine intervention in our quest for ensuring strong RERA rules in Haryana. We hope the government will be transparent in the matter and tell us what changes they are considering bringing to the RERA draft.”

“Suggestions have been sent to the TCP and now we are praying to the Almighty to ensure justice is done. We also wrote to the chief minister seeking his intervention in ensuring strong RERA rules,” said Abhinav Trivedi, a homebuyer, said.

A senior TCP official said, “The department is considering around 50 suggestions.”