Mumbai: Amid controversy over Campa Cola compound demolition issue, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today sought President's assent to a bill which aims at bringing transparency in housing projects in the state.
Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development Bill, 2012 was passed by the state legislature last year. “The instances of contravention of development Control Regulations in Campa Cola compound building and the public uproar that followed the decisions of Supreme Court in this regard has once again highlighted the need for an effective real estate regulatory mechanism,” Chavan said in a letter addressed to Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Girija Vyas.
The Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2012 is a comprehensive legislation which seeks to ensure full disclosure by promoters or developers of a real estate project, and also ensure compliance of agreed terms and conditions through registering, monitoring and regulating real estate projects by a Housing Regulatory Authority, Chavan said in the letter.
He stressed that the objective of the Bill was to usher in transparency, remove information asymmetry and bring discipline in real estate transactions.
“The effective implementation of the Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2012 will go a long way in promoting planned development and construction, sale, transfer and management of flats, in residential buildings and other real estate projects and protect the interests of home buyers,” the Chief Minister said.
Chavan hoped that the proposed Act would help in substantially curbing the tendency to violate Development Control Rules including FSI norms.
“As section 78 of the proposed Real Estate (Regulation and Development Bill, 2013 of the Government of India specifically provides for state legislation on the subject, I had requested in my earlier letters of 21st July, 2012 and 2nd May, 2013 to allow the Government of Maharashtra to have its own legislation viz., the Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Act, 2012,” Chavan said.
In its recent order, the Supreme Court stayed the demolition of the illegal floors across seven buildings in the Campa Cola compound till May 31, 2014 amid protests by the occupants who were facing eviction and razing of illegal floors by the civic body.
