Homebuyers, Centre want Karnataka government to give recovery powers to K-RERA

Lax implementation of recovery orders issued by Real Estate Appellate Tribunals has been a problem across India. To fix this, the Union Ministry of Housing Urban Affairs had written to all State Governments to adopt the Gujarat model of giving RERA executive powers for recovery. 

Homebuyers are demanding that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) - Karnataka be given executive powers to recover revenue or assets from developers whose projects are stuck or inordinately delayed, to compensate homebuyers. 

“At present, Real Estate Appellate Tribunal - Karnataka (K-REAT) passes orders for revenue recovery with the respective tahsildars and deputy commissioners in charge of executing these orders. However, due to the laxity of these officials, K-REAT orders have been rendered ineffective, providing no succour to homebuyers,” says M. S. Shankar, Convenor, Forum for People’s Collective Efforts, which is at the forefront of the movement for RERA. 

K-REAT has till date issued orders in 1,539 cases for recovery of a total of ₹707.26 crore, of which Revenue Department has recovered only ₹79.94 crore in 185 cases up to August 31, 2024, pegging recovery at an average of a meagre 11%. Some of the orders yet to be implemented date back to 2019, data shows. 

“Implementation of K-REAT orders has been lagging. The pendency is the most in Bengaluru Urban district. There have been multiple coordination meetings held at the government level over the issue, but progress has been slow,” said Ibrahim Maigur, Secretary, K-RERA. 

Lax implementation of recovery orders issued by REATs has been a problem across India. To fix this, the Union Ministry of Housing Urban Affairs had written to all State Governments to adopt the Gujarat model of giving RERA executive powers for recovery. 

The Gujarat government had given executive powers to RERA to implement REAT orders for revenue recovery in 2021. Under the rules framed to the RERA Act, 2016, the authority can also arrest defaulter builders who have failed to comply with REAT orders.

“The RERA office in Gujarat even has a civil prison,” said Mr. Shankar, advocating for a similar empowerment of K-RERA in Karnataka. Forum for People’s Collective Efforts has petitioned the Chief Secretary of Karnataka in this regard.