Rs 250 crore compensation owed to buyers still under recovery by revenue officials in Bengaluru

The revenue department has been sent 631 cases by RERA to recover the penalty of Rs 258 crore from 125 builders but they could recover only Rs 8 crore so far and Rs 250 crore from 614 cases is yet to be recovered.

The orders that are passed by the RERA or Adjudicating Officer need to be executed by the Revenue Department as per Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act and any compensation, delay interest or deposit money needs to be recovered as arrears of land revenue to recompense for the loss suffered by homebuyers.

However, the inefficiency shown by the revenue officials over the years is a cause of concern as hundreds of homebuyers are compelled to wait for years to get the compensation due to them.

The revenue department has been sent 631 cases by RERA to recover the penalty of Rs 258 crore from 125 builders but they could recover only Rs 8 crore so far and Rs 250 crore from 614 cases is yet to be recovered.

Earlier the home buyers had to make multiple visits to the builder’s offices are now forced to make visits to tahsildar offices to know the status of recovery progress of the complaints referred by the RERA.

“The RERA passed an order for Rs 5 lakh compensation in September 2021. I came to know the order copy has reached Bengaluru North Taluk Office two months ago. I am in touch with the revenue officer who is doing nothing except giving assurances,’’ complained Manvanthara B, who bought a flat by a prominent builder in year 2017.

He informed that he was supposed to get the possession of the flat in 2018 but the builder failed to do so even in 2022. “Around 60 percent of the construction is pending,’’ he said.

The Karnataka Home Buyers Forum has sent  a letter to the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner to ensure speedy recovery but it is alleged that no action was taken.

Samarth Hegde, a home buyer, who paid Rs 18 lakh as down payment and Rs 52 lakh bank loan to the builder is also waiting for the revenue department to recover Rs 1.10 crore from the builder. “I booked a flat in a upcoming complex on Kanakapura Road in 2017. The builder was supposed to handover the flat to me in 2018 but till now the construction is in progress. I approached the RERA seeking cancellation of booking and refund of my money. The RERA has fixed Rs 1.10 crore as compensation to me two years ago and sent it to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office which sent the same to the tahasildar. Till now, I have not received the compensation,’’ said Hegde.

According to Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar of Karnataka Home Buyers Forum, the Deputy Commissioner and tahsildars have not taken measures to recover the amount specified by the RERA. “They are just passing the responsibility from one table to another. I request Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to take appropriate actions to speed up the process in the Revenue Department to execute RERA orders,’’ said Padmanabhachar.

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner wrote a letter recently to Tahsildars of Bengaluru East, North, South, Anekal and Yelahanka expressing a concern over the slow recovery of RERA revenue recovery certificates. “You are directed to complete the process of closing revenue recovery certificates without any further delay,’’ the Deputy Commissioner said in the letter.

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