Consumer groups accuse Guj, UP of diluting realty laws in favour of builders

Consumer groups are up in arms against the move by the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh government to dilute key provisions of the new realty law dealing with ongoing projects, alleging it favours builders.

Consumer groups are up in arms against the move by the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh government to dilute key provisions of the new realty law dealing with ongoing projects, alleging it favours builders.

Consumer groups have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh of altering key provisions in the new realty law, such as the definition of ‘ongoing project’. (Representative Photo/Getty Images)

Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are the only states which have notified the rules of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, which aims to protect homebuyers from unscrupulous developers. The law covers all such projects, irrespective of when they were launched, completed or occupancy certificate wasn’t given.

While Gujarat has left out all ongoing projects that have come up before October 2016 – the deadline set by the Centre for notifying the rules – from the ambit of realty law, Uttar Pradesh has diluted it by changing the definition of ongoing project that will keep majority of the projects out.

Read | Did homebuyers in UP get a ‘diluted’ real estate regulatory law?

“The root cause of the whole problem plaguing the real estate industry is nexus between builders, authorities, government and politicians which is once again making its naked play… It will also make a mockery of the democratic system where central legislation will be dealt in entirely different way in different parts of country which will tear apart our basic federal structure by raising a big question mark on the supremacy of our Parliament,” Abhay Upadhyay, national convenor, Fight for RERA has written in the letter to PM.

In the letter to Gujarat CM , Vijay Rupani, RERA national convenor has said that the urgency with which entire exercise was done “ignoring your own party’s notification for UTs only strengthens the belief that there exist nexus between builders and important officials of your government.”

The Housing and Poverty Alleviation ministry that is piloting the law has set November 27 as the new deadline for states to frame their rules. A senior ministry official said, “States can’t dilute the provision of a central law. It is unconstitutional.”

However, the ministry is yet to take up the matter with the UP and Gujarat government.