Maharashtra to amend MPID act to protect investors from developers
The Maharashtra government will amend the MPID Act to enable it to take strict action against unscrupulous developers who cheat consumers by promising them homes in various housing projects, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the Legislative Council on Wednesday. He was replying to a debate on a starred question raised by Kiran Pawaskar (NCP) and others related to cheating of consumers by N D Devcon Developers in Kanjurmarg, during Question Hour. "The government will amend the MPID (Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act, 1999) in order to protect the interests of investors," Fadnavis said. He told the Upper House that one of the accused in the Kanjurmarg case has been arrested and 18 of his bank accounts have been sealed. Two accused are currently abroad and efforts are on to bring them back to the country, he said. Replying to supplementary queries, Fadnavis said in order to provide relief to affected consumers, the government will decide on whether to allow the consumers to develop a stalled housing project on their own or hand it over to the MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) for completion. Replying to a supplementary query from Praveen Darekar (BJP), Fadnavis said a decision would soon be taken to hand over stalled housing projects to the MHADA.