SC asks states, UTs to respond to Centre's queries on implementation of RERA rules

New Delhi [India], April 18 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories to respond to the queries raised by the Central government on the implementation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (RERA) Act, 2016 rules in their jurisdiction.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant in the order noted that only five states have responded to the communication dated March 2, 2022, issued by the Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The apex court said that in March 2022 the Centre wrote to all the State governments and UTs seeking certain information with regard to the agreement of sales rules notified under the RERA Act and their compliance but only five States have so far responded to it.
In its order, the apex court said, "In order to facilitate the exercise carried out by the Union of India, we direct all the Chief Secretaries to respond to the queries raised with RERA rules on or before May 15."
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati and amicus curiae Devashish Bharuka will file a status report after receiving all the relevant information from the States, the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing in the third week of July.
Once the report is prepared it will direct the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to upload it on its website, the top court said.
To this, Bhati assured the bench that report will be uploaded on the website.
On February 14, the apex court directed the Centre to examine whether the rules framed by various States under RERA Act are in conformity and subserve the interest of home buyers. It gave three months to the Centre to examine if there are any deviations in the rules framed by the States to the rules framed by the Centre in 2016 and to place the report by the first week of May 2022.
It had earlier asked the Centre to consider framing uniform frame model pacts for builder and agent buyers to protect customers and emphasized the need for a model builder-buyer agreement to safeguard the interest of middle-class home buyers.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking direction to the Centre to frame a model Builder Buyer agreement and model Agent Buyer agreement in order to infuse transparency, reduce fraud and restrain builders and or promoters from indulging in arbitrary unfair and restrictive trade practices.
The plea has been asking to protect the rights and interests of customers.
The petitioner said all states should also enforce the model builder-buyer agreement and model agent-buyer agreement and take appropriate steps to avoid "mental, physical and financial injury".
The petitioner sought accountability toward customers and developed an effective mechanism to weed out a criminal conspiracy for wrongful gains, criminal breach of trust and "dishonest misappropriation of buyers' money by promoters and agents".
Upadhyay, in his petition, also sought directions to compensate buyers for losses incurred due to inordinate delay on the part of promoters and to recover the money, "misappropriated by promoters and agents under the garb of taxes, interests, penalties and other charges".(ANI)