Bhubaneswar: In a landmark order, Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) on Saturday directed a realtor executing a mega housing-cum-commercial project at Phulnakhara on the city outskirts not to proceed with further bookings as it repeatedly failed to adhere to conditions specified in its registration certificate.
Hearing the case it registered suo motu, ORERA also ordered the builder not to collect more money from the buyers, obtain the occupancy certificates for the completed units from the competent authority and register the association of allottees as mandated under the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023.
ORERA has also asked the promoter to immediately hand over the common areas to the association and register the sale deeds with buyers for units already sold. It stated that if the builder failed to do so, ORERA registration certificate would be revoked.
Sources said the builder obtained a registration certificate from ORERA in 2019 and again in 2021, specifying the construction of 1,626 residential units and 571 commercial units. Accordingly, the builder started construction on the mega project.
In 2024, the promoter revised the building plan and obtained a revised registration certificate from ORERA, stating that it would increase the number of residential units to 3,157 and commercial units to 796.
“While issuing the last registration certificate, it was found that the promoter had not handed over the completed flats to the prospective homebuyers with whom it had entered into an agreement for sale,” the order read.
ORERA, in its order, further said that upon verifying the quarterly progress reports submitted by the builder, it was found that although it received a substantial amount from the buyers, it had not handed over even a single unit to any of them.
It was also found that the promoter had not obtained the consent of two-third of allottees when it revised the building plan this year. “The promoter has repeatedly misled the buyers as well as the authority since 2019,” a senior ORERA member said.
The member also said that they didn’t revoke the registration certificate of the builder since it would not be in favour of the homebuyers who have already invested their money in the project.
“We have given the builder the conditions and a timeline to meet. If it fails to adhere to them, we will be forced to revoke the registration certificate and take action against the builder to protect the homebuyers,” he said.