The Confederation of NCR Residents Welfare Associations (CONRWA) has once again urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the quick passage of the real estate regulatory bill.

“We have urged the PM and Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu to look into the quick passage of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill so that not only the common man, but also small investors can benefit from it,” P S Jain, president of CONRWA, told TOI on 7th September.

Introduced in Rajya Sabha in August 2013, the bill aims at checking the unprecedented sway and hitherto unhindered clout of the real estate sector. Earlier, CONRWA had sent a similar request to Modi and Naidu in Sept 2014 and later in February 2015.

According to Jain, the said request for passing of the bill was based on CONRWA’s earlier application, when the then standing committee chairman, Sharad Yadav, had given his recommendation for approval of the bill. Since then, the bill is pending.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill includes several recommendations such as a mandatory background check on developers. It provides for time-bound delivery of projects with clause for penalty when defaulted. It also provides for blacklisting those developers who have defaulted twice in the past.

The bill also recommends prohibiting builders to alter/change project plans unless sanctioned by two-third majority of allottees. “The bill may need further strengthening to protect consumer interest, but it’s high time that it’s passed. We demand that a special session of Parliament be convened for the speedy passing of the bill,” said Jain.

Meenakshi Sinha,