Two home-buyers’ forums and an NGO have called for the repeal of West Bengal Housing Industry Regulation Act 2017 (WBHIRA) alleging its provisions to be not in conformity with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act.
These organisations fear that if West Bengal is successful in implementing its own version of the Act, or WBHIRA, other States may follow suit, defeating the purpose of having a Central Act.
RERA is a Central Act aimed at regulating the real estate sector and ensures protection of home-buyers’ interests. The WBHIRA is the State equivalent of the RERA, but allegedly a much watered-down version some of whose provisions favour developers, rather than home-buyers.
Home-buyers’ organisations, Forum for People’s Collective Efforts (FPCE) and Federation of Apartment Owners Association (FAOA) and the NGO, Namma Bengaluru Foundation, have written to the Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (Independent Charge), Hardeep Singh Puri, on September 1 on the matter.
Uniform law
They have urged the minister to notify a sub-committee — as constituted in Central Advisory Council meeting held in May — for RERA to be implemented “in totality” in West Bengal. The sub-committee was supposed to have members from both home buyer organisations and real estate developer associations.
All the three organisations are members of the CAC formed by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
According to Abhay Upadhyay, President, FPCE, the RERA has to be implemented in totality and as a uniform law across the country. States like Maharastra and Kerala had previously had their own state laws but they fell through for uniform implementation of RERA. In case of Maharastra, the State act was repealed as per provisions under RERA; while Kerala de-notified its own act.
FPCE had already written to the President of India and the Prime Minister urging the presidential assent to WBHIRA not be given.
Penal provisions
“Two Acts, one at the Centre and another in the State with varying provisions will confuse home-buyers. Moreover, what is the use of having RERA if States can dilute its provisions?” he asked.
In fact, Upadhyay points out that most of the States had own laws and penal provisions governing the real estate sector. But, they were hardly used.
“It will be ideal if the State government withdraws WBHIRA and implements RERA in totality. That is what we are looking at from the home-buyers end and this sub committee was supposed to persuade the West Bengal government to implement RERA,” he added.