Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) of Housing and Urban Affairs, has said that in this new era OF RERA, we are witnessing positive transformative changes in the industry. “As we are in the 2nd year of the implementation of RERA, I am happy to note all the States/UTs have notified Rules under RERA except for 6 North Eastern States and the state of West Bengal”, he said. The Minister was delivering the inaugural address at the 3rd regional workshop on “RERA-a new era of transparency and accountability in Real Estate-2 years of implementation and Way Ahead” here today.Lt. Governor of Delhi Shri Anil Baijal, Shri Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, M/o Housing and Urban Affairs, various stakeholders, home-buyers, representatives of the developer’s association, Chairpersons and senior functionaries of the Authorities and Appellate Tribunals, senior officers from the State Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi, were present on the occasion.Shri Puri informed the gathering that recently, a separate deliberation with all the north-eastern states was organized by his Ministry, wherein all the clarifications were given. He hoped that RERA will be implemented in all the states of north eastern region very soon. Stating that it was a proud moment for all of us that India has climbed another 23 points in the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business Index” to 77th place, becoming the top ranked country in South Asia for the first time, Shri Puri pointed out that “the biggest gain was in construction permit, where India climbed from 181st ranks to 52nd place on the back of targeted government effort to remove hurdles.” “India reduced the number of procedures and time required to obtain a building permit by implementing an online system that has streamlined the process at the Municipality of New Delhi and Municipality of Greater Mumbai”, he added.
Hardeep Singh Puri pointed out that till the year 2016, there was no regulator for real estate and construction sector, which is the largest employer after agriculture and housing. He said, in a landmark move, the central government, in the form of RERA, gave the real estate sector its first regulator w.e.f. from 1st May, 2016.Shri Puri highlighted that to bring uniformity, professionalism, and standardization in the real estate sector, RERA provides for mandatory registration of Agents and Projects. “So far 33,750 projects and 26,018 Agents have been registered pan India”, he informed. “Maharashtra has the highest number of project and agent registration. In Maharashtra, total 18,392 projects and 17,188 Agents have been registered”, he pointed out.The Minister emphasised that the full benefits of RERA would be realized only when the provisions of RERA are implemented in letter and spirit. The Minister said, all the stakeholders need to make aware about the powers and other provisions of RERA, as the Act also mandates under section 33 that the Authority shall take suitable measures for the promotion of advocacy, creating awareness and imparting training about laws relating to real estate sector and policies.Pointed out that a committee was constituted by the Government of Uttar Pradesh under chairpersonship of Secretary, MOHUA to address the issues of home buyers and affected parties of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway, Shri Puri said the recommendations of the Committee are aimed at providing solution to the completion of homes in the stalled projects of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway. “None of the recommendations put any additional burden on the homebuyers, rather they will smoothen completion of the projects to deliver possession to home buyers at the earliest”, he said.