THE PARL PANEL HAS RETAINED ALL PENAL PROVISIONS RELATED TO IMPRISONMENT OF DEVELOPERS FOR VIOLATION OF LAW
NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel is said to have recommended that housing projects on land below 1,000 square metres should be covered by the proposed real estate regulator, a move that could shield buyers of small properties.
According to the original Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) bill, builders could register with the regulator only if their project was on land exceeding 1,000 square metres, thereby leaving a large chunk of home buyers out of its ambit.
The bill was referred to a 21-member Rajya Sabha select committee after a united opposition stalled its passage in the Upper House during the budget session. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has accused the government of trying to rob middle-class homebuyers by changing provisions of the UPA-era bill.
Sources said some members wanted all plots, irrespective of size, brought under RERA. But a section in the panel felt this could make the proposed law, when it is passed, difficult to implement.
The panel might finalise what should be the minimum size of land for projects before submitting its report on Wednesday.
It has also recommended that a builder cannot divert less than 50% of money collected from buyers to other projects.
The original bill had a similar cap but allowed states to lower it as and when they felt it was needed. Now, states would be free to raise the ceiling, but not lower it.
The panel has retained all penal provisions related to imprisonment of developers for any violation of the proposed law, despite some members wanting to drop the clause in the original bill.
Developers will have to disclose all information, such as layout plan and project time schedule, to the regulator. Any failure will attract a fine of 10% of the project cost.
Any subsequent offence will invite another fine of 10% of the project cost or a three-year jail term.
Piloted by the housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry, the bill covers both residential and commercial real estate.
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