Chhattisgarh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has clarified that according to Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, registration is must for buying and selling all the new and ongoing housing projects in the state.

“It is mandatory to register the project with Chhattisgarh RERA before it is advertised, marketed, booked or sold or offered for sale or inviting persons to purchase it in any manner”, it said.

Registrar of RERA said that in case of violation of the above provision, there is a provision of imposing a penalty of up to 10 percent of the project cost and imprisonment of up to three years under Section 59 of the RERA Act.

From the prima facie observation of development permissions issued in the last five years in four districts of the state (Raipur, Bilaspur, Kawardha, Kanker), it has come to notice that there are about 157 such projects which have received development permissions for the purpose of marketing and selling of the projects.

Even after obtaining permission, the project has not been registered with Chhattisgarh RERA, it said.

A notice is also being issued to them by the authority. Also, from the observation of the information received by the authority from the city and village investment offices, it appears that the number of projects in the above category is likely to increase even more.

The provisions of the Act and the instructions of the authority are being continuously violated by such residential and commercial projects and promoters.

In order to protect the interests of consumers and ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act, the Authority has decided to register a case against 157 such promoters and take strict action.