RERA should have been enacted earlier, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA) should have been enacted earlier to check the malpractices of builders. His comments came following the Supreme Court’s stay on an NCLT order suspending real estate major Unitech’s directors and allowing the government to appoint its nominees in their place. Modi was addressing the 90th AGM here of industry chamber Ficci. Pointing to builders’ arbitrariness that resulted in buyers not getting homes in time despite making full payments during the previous government’s tenure, Modi said his government has brought in the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act to address the problems faced by the middle class and curb the arbitrariness of builders. He also urged big corporates to clear the dues of small and medium enterprises on time to give a fillip to the economy. “RERA could have been passed before it actually was, but it was our government that felt the plight of homeowners who were at the mercy of unscrupulous builders,” Modi said. “Why was there no action taken earlier,” he asked, wondering whether Ficci, as an industry body, had brought the issue of builders not delivering on their promises to notice of the previous UPA government.