Bombay HC seeks to know from Maha govt if MahaRERA can identify classify and rate developers

Bombay High Court has sought to know from the Maharashtra government if the state’s housing regulator Maha RERA could identify, classify and rate private developers so that societies and other authorities could make an informed decision while choosing a builder.

A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale was on February 3 hearing a petition taken up suo motu (on its own) by the HC based on a plea filed by a person seeking payment of unpaid transit rent and against the stalled redevelopment of a cessed property known as Ratilal Mansion in south Mumbai.

The redevelopment of the building was stalled in 2013 after private developer Orbit Corporation Limited, which was involved in the project, went into liquidation. By then, it had built nine floors of the new building.

Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA)’s advocate Prakash Lad had on February 3 informed the HC that it was in the process of appointing a structural consultant to submit an audit report of the semi-finished structure.

He further said that MHADA now has the power to redevelop a building itself. The bench noted that the dilemma before the MHADA and the society is not just the structural audit and engineering technicalities but about making a proper and informed choice of a developer.

This would be to the benefit of the concerned society as also MHADA, and would minimise the risk to a considerable extent in project completion. With a developer database accessible, both the societies and MHADA would be able to make a better and informed decision about the choice of developer, the court said.

We approach MahaRERA not just as a statutory authority but as a body with specialised knowledge, expertise and data, seeking its assistance, it added.

While taking suo motu cognisance of the matter, the court had in January noted that this was a problem that occurs repeatedly throughout the city, especially with the redevelopment of cessed buildings.