Plan for regulatory mechanism under MOFA for housing sector….Swatee Kher
A regulatory commission will be formed under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act (MOFA) to address complaints regarding housing, as a draft proposal of amendment to the Act was presented before the Cabinet earlier this week.
However, the contentious issues of fixing upper limit on super built-up area, fixing of prices for low and middle income group flats and the percentage of flats a developer would be required to construct for lower income groups in housing complexes have been left out. A presentation of the draft amendment to 1963 Act was made before the state Cabinet this week and has been given in-principle approval, sources said. The proposal is pending Cabinet approval.
A separate presentation was made to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar earlier this week and now Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has to give his nod for the proposal to be brought before the Cabinet. The housing department is with the Chief Minister who is keen on bringing in a regulator in the housing sector.
Minister of State for Housing Sachin Ahir said the draft amendment of MOFA was cleared by Pawar and a presentation was made before the Cabinet. Principal Secretary for Housing Gautam Chatterjee confirmed that he had made a presentation before the Cabinet and a Cabinet note was ready on the amendments to the MOFA. Ahir said as per the proposed amendment, a housing regulatory commission would be formed, wherein consumers can approach with housing related complaints instead of going to the city civil court. Also, developers will have to register with the commission when they decide to launch a project.
The state Cabinet had, three years ago, cleared the Maharashtra Housing Regulatory Commission Act but it was never presented in the legislature. The government later dropped the idea of a separate Act and has introduced these amendments on the lines of the Central Model Real Estate Act.