Realty complaints in Goa are low, says RERA official

The number of complaints filed with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) against real estate developers and real estate agents in Goa are minimal, said interim RERA Sudhir Mahajan on Wednesday. The few complaints that have been received have been resolved in a time-bound manner, while others were found to be “motivated” against the builder, Mahajan said. Speaking at a RERA awareness camp, Mahajan announced that the state government planned to hold awareness camps in every taluka to make people aware of the powers of RERA. “Though we have registered more than 350 projects in Goa and registered agents are beyond 50, but still the number of complaints is minimal,” said Mahajan. “Some complaints have been found to be motivated and the general complaints that are coming are being addressed in a time-bound fashion.” Mahajan went on to say that real estate transactions in Goa “are very neat” as developers and real estate agents were following the norms and RERA rules. GOACAN convener Roland Martins said that many Goans remain unaware of RERA and the protection it offered to homebuyers. “The concentration should be to get across to people that there is a transparent process here. We need to build confidence among those who had a bad experience earlier,” Martins said. Mahajan pointed out that while it takes years for a customer to get benefit under consumer laws, under RERA, there is a 60-day deadline for the home buyer to get justice. “The role of the RERA authority is to ensure that the agreement between the developer and consumer is honored in letter and in spirit,” he said.