HYDERABAD: Various realtor bodies in Telangana raised their voices against the unscrupulous and unchecked mode of cheating the gullible customers in the name of registering undivided share of land, prelaunch and presale offers.
Representatives of these real estate bodies including the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) on Friday appealed to the state government to immediately act against people indulging in illegal sale, that too presumptive, of the properties. They also expressed concern over the Telangana State Real Estate Regulatory Authority not acting firmly to put an end to the menace.
“It is no less than a cancer to the realty sector. The image of Hyderabad as the top real estate investment destination will soon be hit badly if the government fails to act now,” Credai Hyderabad president P. Ramakrishna Rao told media persons here.
Explaining about the procedure adopted by individuals and companies, some of which are very popular in the city, Rao said the former made prospective flat buyers invest in the land first by promising to offer the finished flat at half the market price. While some amount would be given as advance to the landowner, the remaining would be invested elsewhere. “It is impossible to construct the project with the money they collected from the prospective buyers as a result of which there will be inordinate delay in launching the project. In some cases, they remain non-starters,” Rao pointed out.
C. Prabhakar Rao, president of Telangana Builders Federation, cautioned that the investor inland in the form of undivided share would not get protection from any of the statutory agencies because his status would change from the customer to that of a co-developer of the project. The RERA Act provides stringent action against the builder or developer for cheating the customers but those buying undivided share of land inadvertently become a developer and liable to be punished, he said.
The realtors also wanted the RERA to find out such projects and notify besides initiating action to protect the interest of the buyers. Maintaining that they as advisory bodies would not have power to inspect the records of the companies indulging in the illegal practices, they said it would be easy for the government to detect such projects.
“The first alert will be in the form of hundreds of people coming for registration of extents as small as 40-50 sq yds,” they said adding that the RERA should immediately call for inspection of the records and bank accounts of the project developer and take necessary action.
Ch. Ramachandra Reddy, chairman, Credai, Telangana, D. Murali Krishna Reddy, president Credai, Telangana, R. Chalapathi Rao, president, TREDA, G. V. Rao, president, Telangana Developers Association and V. Rajasekhar Reddy, general secretary, Credai, Hyderabad, were present.
