"Covid-19 Should not be an excuse to protect undue rights of Real Estate Promoters"

An Appeal by Col. Tejandra Pal Tyagi

Corona should not be used as a shield to protect the undue rights of the Promoters

1st May is celebrated as the RERA Day. This time both the Promoters and the home buyers are in great trouble. Most of the labour have left the construction site and gone to their villages not only on account of the Lockdown restrictions but also owing to the recurring need of crop harvesting during this time of the year. UP RERA has indicated that other things remaining the same, construction work may resume by mid May. However, it will take a little longer to mobilize and the productivity may also suffer due to maintaining social distancing owing to covid-19. Prices of cement, steel and allied items of construction industry are likely to increase post Lockdown.

The Government and the RERA authorities may invoke force majeure clauses and grant one year extension to the projects in the name of Lockdown to favour the promoters.

We at , FPCE (Forum for People’s Collective Efforts)- a pan India apex body of the Home Buyers-  demand that the extension to the projects should not exceed the days of lockdown as per section 6 of RERA. We demand the following on the RERA Day :

·         Extension to the projects should not exceed the lockdown period

·         Stamp Duty should be waived off for one year

·         Tax on EMI for at least 3 months should be waived off

·         Executive Officer with the powers of Revenue Court and Civil court  should be appointed like MP RERA to implement the recovery notices of RERA

·         The stress fund of Rs 25,000/- crore should also be utilized to alleviate the sufferings of Home Buyers on whose suggestion it was created.

When we celebrate Women’s Day we talk of “ Mahila Shashaktikaran”, when we celebrate the “National Panchayati Raj Diwas” the Prime Minister does video conferencing  with “Gaon Sarpanch” and therefore, on this RERA Day let the Govt and RERA Authorities go out of box to help the long suffering Home Buyers since FPCE formerly known as FIGHT for RERA was instrumental in getting the long pending RERA Bill enacted.

Col Tejandra Pal Tyagi,

Vice President, FPCE,<tptyagi@gmail.com>