MahaRERA on drive to verify OCs of 3,700 lapsed projects

Mumbai: MahaRERA has decided to verify the occupancy certificates (OCs) of as many as 3,699 lapsed projects. The regulatory authority is sending letters to all planning authorities, requesting them to verify the authenticity of the OCs.
The regulator had earlier served notices to 10,773 lapsed projects. It had put in abeyance the registration of 1,950 projects as these had failed to respond to the notices. As part of the action, their bank accounts were frozen.

Subsequently, developers of 3,699 projects claimed that the housing schemes were completed, and the developers also uploaded OCs on the MahaRERA website.
Now, in view of fake documents submitted by developers of projects in Kalyan-Dombivli to MahaRERA, the regulator will verify whether the OCs are authentic.
Accordingly, the regulator is sending project details to all planning authorities concerned, requesting them to verify whether the OCs uploaded have indeed been issued by them or not. The planning authorities have been requested to confirm the factual status within 10 days. If the authorities fail to respond within the stipulated period, the regulator will assume that the OCs issued are genuine and will accordingly mark the projects as completed.
While writing to the authorities across Maharashtra, the regulator has pointed out that if any discrepancies are found at a later stage, the entire risk and cost-related responsibility will rest with the planning authority concerned.
Of the 3,699 projects, 1,819 projects are from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), 1,223 from the Pune region, 273 from the Nashik region, 132 from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar region, 84 from the Amravati region, and 168 from the Nagpur region.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act mandates that all housing projects have to be registered with MahaRERA, and the sale of homes can be done after the registration of the project. Besides, during the construction period, promoters are required to submit quarterly progress reports and annual audit reports. After the completion of the project, the developers have to mandatorily upload the OC, issued by the planning authority, on the MahaRERA website. Only after MahaRERA accepts the OC, a promoter will be permitted to withdraw all the funds from the designated account.
Promoters also have to state the project's completion date while registering the project with MahaRERA. Once the project is completed as per the date stated by the developer, the developer is required to submit Form 4 along with the occupancy certificate. If work on the project is not completed by the date stated, then the developer has to apply for an extension of the deadline for the project. If the project becomes unfeasible, the developer has to apply for de-registration. Besides, the developers are required to mandatorily submit a quarterly progress report and annual progress reports on MahaRERA's website.