The Maharashtra RERA Authority, MahaRERA, on Wednesday announced the first verdict on a complaint filed by a consumer against the delayed project delivery by a real estate promoter. The MahaRERA bench was chaired by the adjudicating officer Shri B.D. Kapadanis, who, in his order instructed the promoter to return Rs 26 lakhs, which was collected as an advance.

The builder had collected the money back in 2012 and assured the buyers of the delivery by 2016. The complainant, who belongs from Khar had filed the complaint with MahaRERA for the project that was to be served in Virar, by  Ekta Parksville Homes. The order issued by MahaRERA stated, ‘The Parties have amicably settled the dispute and the complainant have received full amount.’ Therefore, their claim was satisfied following which the Authority disposed off the complaint. Also Read: MahaRERA makes the anticipated bold move, imposes a hefty penalty of Rs 50,000 on 480 Projects

This consumer-favored order by the Authority will encourage more buyers to step up against fraudulent builders of the state and look forward to get their deserved compensations. The Authority has also seen a significant rise in the number of complaints filed by consumers, as there were only 55 complaints till 30^th August 2017, which has now crossed the mark of 100.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act was formed with the view to benefit the consumers and it will be interesting to see if other state Authorities maintains such level of consumer friendly decisions.