Srinagar: Real Estate developers and builders in Jammu and Kashmir will face greater scrutiny now as the Jammu and Kashmir Real Estate Regulatory Authority (JKRERA) has begun inspecting new construction projects and asked builders and real estate promoters to register with the authority.
The J&K Government, under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, established the JKRERA, effective December 16, 2024. It is headed by former IAS officer Satish Chandra as its chairman with Virender Singh Pathania, former DG Coast Guard as its member.
The other officers of JKRERA are drawn from revenue, housing and urban development departments and municipal corporations. As per the official notification issued by the J&K Housing and Urban Development Department, JKRERA will oversee the regulation and development of real estate activities in the region.
Until now, the construction of housing colonies and other commercial establishments in the Union Territory was carried out under the watch and permission of government agencies like municipal corporations, revenue and other concerned authorities.
However, several instances of disputes between owners and buyers have come to the fore after land titles and permissions turned out to be fraudulent and cases of cheating emerged.
Chandra, who headed the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission between June 2022 and November 2023, told ETV Bharat that the JKRERA aims to protect home-buyers from cheating by builders, real estate agents and promoters.
He said that before the Act and the Authority, commercial property or projects would be sold by real estate brokers without any regulation and transparency.
“RERA’s main purpose is to safeguard home or property buyers so that they are not cheated by the builders. The builders or owners will need to compulsorily register with RERA where he or she has to provide all details about the project or property which the prospective buyers can verify from the authority,” he said.
In its first exercise in recent days, RERA inspected more than 30 real estate projects in Jammu and Kashmir. In Srinagar city, the authority after inspection issued notices to 20 owners of projects and found them without registration. It asked the owners to register their projects with RERA within 15 days.
“Every project measuring more than 500 square metres or more than eight apartments will have to be registered with the authority,” he said.
Chandra said that registration has to be done online on the website of the authority where the builders or owners have to provide and attach all details about the project including, land title, project plan and layouts, permissions and all relevant information for maintaining transparency for the buyers, lessees etc.
As per the Act, the developer cannot make any changes to the plan, that had been sold, without the written consent of the buyer. Chandra said if the builders or owners fail to register as mandated by Section 3 of the Real Estate Act with RERA, it will invite a penalty, which includes ten percent of the estimated cost of the real estate project. “Non-compliance would mean imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years,” he said.
Housing colonies or apartments in Jammu and Kashmir are built by private builders where complaints of planning and lack of connecting roads within the colonies and other basic amenities like electricity, water supply etc are lacking.
“RERA will not allow building of housing colonies which have no approvals from competent authorities and it will ensure the owners and builders provide roads, electricity and water supply. The development will be planned. Protecting the interests of homebuyers is our primary aim,” he said.
The officials like tehsildars, naib tehsildar, town planners and law officers, drawn from other departments comprise the RERA’s dedicated team which assists in resolving grievances and will guide the builders and buyers.
Land and housing projects in Jammu and Kashmir would be bought through real estate agents or brokers before the Act. Now the agents have to register with the authority and he or she has to facilitate the sale of only registered plots, buildings or apartments.
The chairman said that since the law is new, the authority will initially facilitate and inform real estate owners and builders to register and comply with the Act. “Later on we will crack our whip and won't let any owner or builder go scot-free after cheating buyers,” he said.
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