As per S.40(1) of the RERA Act, 2016; MahaRERA can issue recovery warrant against errant promoters to seize their assests who fail to compensate the aggrieved allotees. Data from their official website shows 884 warrants were issued till December 2022 and more than 200 warrants were issued this year which takes the recoverable amount over Rs.700 crore from a total of 459 projects against whom the warrants are issued. The highest warrants have been registered against 131 projects in Pune, followed by 122 projects in Mumbai suburban and the rest in other 12 districts of Maharashtra.

The problem lies in the execution of the warrants issued by the authority as only 18% of the above amount i.e. Rs.138 crore has been successfuly recovered since MahaRERA's inception from 1st May, 2017. Lets know the process in brief- If the decree passed in favour of the aggrieved allottee is not complied by the promoter, the allottee can file for execution of decree with the authority who inturn directs the respective collector of the district to attach the property of the promoter and recover the dues by auction or any other method as per the provisions mentioned in Rule 17 of Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966.

The decree-holders have asked the authority to expedite the execution of the process as they have been merely holding a piece of paper for more than a year or two which hasn't benefited them yet. "We have to make multiple trips to the collector's office to know the status of the warrant, only to find that the collector is busy in other administrative work and the warrant has been accumlating dust on the desk" said a resident association group of Pune district who are awaiting the execution of the decree.

To resolve this grievance of the decree-holders, two important decisions have been taken by the authority. Firstly, MahaRERA has appointed retired additional collector, Mr. Anant Dahiphale to oversee and supervise the execution of the recovery warrants in a timely manner by coordinating with the 13 district collectorates where the warrants are pending.

Secondly, MahaRERA chairman, Mr. Ajoy Mehta in their review meetings asserted on summoning the collectors to ensure speedy execution and hence issued directions in the latest circular no. 44/2023 that collectors should submit compliance report to MahaRERA every quarterly of the status of the warrants issued till date including the stage/level of the execution of the warrants.

There may be several additional factors causing delay in execution of warrants as regards to matter of facts and matter of law- Parties can appeal against the orders of the authority with the appellate tribunal causing extended timeline for recovery of the dues. Identification and valuation of the seized asset can be a tedious task especially if those assets are hidden. Also auctioning of the property if situated in a remote location takes a lot of time to find a buyer and further sell it at appropriate cost to recover the dues.

The collectors, tehsildars and other officials are already burdened with executive and administrative work which inturn delay the execution process. Such unforeseen dilemmas which arent in the hands of the authority, hamper with the execution of the warrants.

However, there are provisions like S.43(5) of the act, where in the promoter before filing an appeal in the appellate tribunal must deposit atleast 30% of the penalty with the authority. Also, the authority has established conciliation centres where the matters can be settled amicably without having to go to through the trouble of litigation. Inspite of incorporating such pro-customer provisions there are large number of aggrieved people awaiting to get back their significant amount of life savings duped by such errant builders.

On the contrary, a MahaRERA official said there are many people who have been benefited from the customer-centric approach and are happy with the support they are getting from the authority. Nevertheless, it is imperative that the MahaRERA should take precautions and ensure that the rules are strictly complied by the promoters at the registration and compliance stage so that the allottees wont have to go through the hassle of these proceedings at a later stage.

References:

1. Real Estate Act 2016 - https://maharera.maharashtra.gov.in/sites/default/files/acts/Real_Estate_Act_2016-26-03-2016.pdf
2. Maharashtra Real Estate Regulation and Development Rules 2017 - https://maharera.maharashtra.gov.in/sites/default/files/rules_grs_circulars/Maharashtra_Real_Estate_Regulation_and_Development_Registration_of_Real_Estate_Projects_Registration_of_Real_Estate_Agents_Rates_of_Interest_and_Disclosures_on_Website_Rules_2017.pdf
3. Order 111 - https://maharera.maharashtra.gov.in/sites/default/files/Orders_and_circulars/111.pdf
4. Warrant Details - https://maharera.maharashtra.gov.in/index.php/warrant-details

Award Winning Article Is Written By: Mr.Sanket A. Lohote

Authentication No: JN400942283011-9-0124