NEW DELHI: The observation of a Supreme Court bench on Real Estate Regulatory Authority ( RERA ) on Friday that the regulator had become rehabilitation centres for former bureaucrats who have frustrated the entire scheme of the Act, has put the spotlight on the composition of the bodies which were supposed to safeguard the rights of homebuyers .
This comes at a time when almost all sitting chairpersons of these authorities are former govt servants, in most cases ex-IAS, IPS or IFS officers.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan made the remark on RERA while hearing an appeal filed against a Delhi HC order which dismissed pleas seeking directions to banks and financial institutions to refrain from charging pre-EMIs or full EMIs from petitioners.
Though the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act says that people with at least 20 years’ experience in fields including urban development, housing, real estate development, infrastructure, economics, planning, law, accountancy, public affairs or administration are eligible to become chairpersons, sources said former officers suit the most, and hence, they get selected.
Currently, barring the Telangana RERA, in all other states former senior bureaucrats are working as chairpersons.
Similarly, the Act notified in 2016 specifies that people with at least 15 years of experience in the notified fields can become members or RERA chairpersons. Both chairpersons and members are appointed by states on the recommendations of a selection committee consisting of the chief justice of the HC or his nominee, secretaries of housing and the law departments in the respective state.
TOI spoke to some of the serving and former RERA chiefs who are also former bureaucrats for their views on the observations by the judges.
“Former bureaucrats as heads and members of different RERAs have done good work. It won’t be right to make a generic comment. During Covid-19 period, authorities in states provided relief to stakeholders within the framework of the Act. It’s not clear whether the judges made comments about all RERAs,” said a former RERA chairman.
Another former chairman and retired IAS said that to some extent the court’s observation may be correct if any particular authority has not delivered, but to say that all have failed isn’t right.
Former Haryana RERA chairman K K Khandelwal said, “The real estate law deals with both regulation and development. Former bureaucrats in different RERAs have delivered as they have good experience. There have been chartered accountants, senior town planners and technical people as members of these authorities. However, there is a greater need for RERAs to ensure that buyers get relief.”
This comes at a time when almost all sitting chairpersons of these authorities are former govt servants, in most cases ex-IAS, IPS or IFS officers.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan made the remark on RERA while hearing an appeal filed against a Delhi HC order which dismissed pleas seeking directions to banks and financial institutions to refrain from charging pre-EMIs or full EMIs from petitioners.
Though the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act says that people with at least 20 years’ experience in fields including urban development, housing, real estate development, infrastructure, economics, planning, law, accountancy, public affairs or administration are eligible to become chairpersons, sources said former officers suit the most, and hence, they get selected.
Currently, barring the Telangana RERA, in all other states former senior bureaucrats are working as chairpersons.
Similarly, the Act notified in 2016 specifies that people with at least 15 years of experience in the notified fields can become members or RERA chairpersons. Both chairpersons and members are appointed by states on the recommendations of a selection committee consisting of the chief justice of the HC or his nominee, secretaries of housing and the law departments in the respective state.
TOI spoke to some of the serving and former RERA chiefs who are also former bureaucrats for their views on the observations by the judges.
“Former bureaucrats as heads and members of different RERAs have done good work. It won’t be right to make a generic comment. During Covid-19 period, authorities in states provided relief to stakeholders within the framework of the Act. It’s not clear whether the judges made comments about all RERAs,” said a former RERA chairman.
Another former chairman and retired IAS said that to some extent the court’s observation may be correct if any particular authority has not delivered, but to say that all have failed isn’t right.
Former Haryana RERA chairman K K Khandelwal said, “The real estate law deals with both regulation and development. Former bureaucrats in different RERAs have delivered as they have good experience. There have been chartered accountants, senior town planners and technical people as members of these authorities. However, there is a greater need for RERAs to ensure that buyers get relief.”
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