Pune

Its been four weeks since the Real Estate Regulatory Authority came into force in Maharashtra, but only 12 projects and 900 agents have so far registered under the new regulatory regime across the state.

Three builders have registered in Pune division, eight in Konkan and one in Nagpur division. The remaining divisions are yet to have any registration, RERA officials said.

Under the new rules, developers and agents have 90 day's time from May 1 to register under RERA Act, which means they have to do so before July 31. The MahaRERA is expected to bring about transparency in the system.

Gautam Chatterjee, chairman, Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority, said the slow pace of registrations was expected as developers have to get a lot of information and clearances from architects, engineers and consultants. "It was expected to be slow this month. However, it will pick up in the next two months," he added.

Chatterjee said the delay in registrations was due to developer's "internal issues". It was not due to any technical issue as the website has been functioning well.

"Seventeen developers have applied out of which 12 projects have been approved. Developers have 62 days to register till the end of July, after which they will have to face show-cause notices for non-compliance," Chatterjee said. If after booking for a registered project, consumers face any issue, then, they can complain on the "complaint portal", which will be activated in the coming week.

Credai national president-elect Satish Magar said there was a delay in registering as the Act is new and developers had to reformat their agreements as per new rules. "They are taking time but Maharashtra is the first state to have the entire process online and it is streamlined. I am confident that by June 15 we should have nearly 75% registrations completed," he added.

Responding to concerns about the regulator's ability to handle a large number of applicants, Chatterjee said the entire process is online and complaints of technical issues have been addressed and they are ready to take on any number of registrations.

Shantilal Kataria, state Credai president, said Maharashtra is the first state to go online followed by Madhya Pradesh. "The final rules and regulations came in the last week of April so the developers are cautious as they have to give the correct estimation of the project, sanction plan on the website. The process of registration for real estate agents is simpler. By mid-July, at least 10,000 registrations are expected to be done," Kataria added.