11 warrants issued so far after developers failed to comply with its orders to refund home buyers.

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has in the last two months issued recovery warrants against developers who failed to comply with its orders to refund home buyers under Section 40(1) of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act.

“Any authority can approach the Collector for revenue recovery under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code for recovery of arrears. MahaRERA adjudicating officer BD Kapadnis has issued recovery warrants in several cases where the authority’s orders to refund were not complied with,” MahaRERA Chairperson Gautam Chatterjee told Mumbai Mirror.

Under section 18 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (MLRC), revenue officers like tehsildar have powers to carry out searches, freeze bank accounts, seize a property and put it on the auction block.

“MahaRERA has issued 11 recovery warrants so far, including one each in Mumbai city, Thane, Chandrapur, and Raigad. In Pune, six warrants were issued, including five against one developer,” said MahaRERA secretary Vasant Prabhu. In April, Kapadnis had issued recovery warrant against Firoz Tinwala and Mustafa Firoz Tinwala, developers of Ashrafi Towers, after the they failed to comply with his order to refund home buyers Amit Malik (Rs 35 lakh), Shankar Kamble (Rs 18 lakh), Nasir Patel (Rs 35 lakh), Shakir Patel (Rs 35 lakh), Jameruddin Shaikh (Rs 34 lakh), Nayab Faukat (Rs 8 lakh) and Shadab Faukat (Rs 8.5 lakh) with interest. The developers were then served a showcause notice under Section 63 of RERA as to why penalty should not be imposed on them.

“Despite the notice, respondents have not appeared to explain why the order has not been complied with. So, it is necessary to issue recovery warrant under section 40(1) of RERA instead of proceeding under Section 63 of the Act. Hence, the recovery warrant is issued and it is being sent to the Collector,” Kapadnis noted in his order.

Similar recovery warrants were issued against Pune-based developer Sigma One Shilp Ventures after they failed to comply with the refund orders dated January 3, 2018 in favour of six home buyers – Shailesh Pardikar (Rs 62 lakh), Parag and Sonam Jain (Rs 53 lakh each), Gaurav Joshi (Rs 36.36 lakh). Jitendra and Nilima Chaudhari (Rs 67 lakh) and Prashant Karodpati (Rs 64 lakh) in connection with La Cabana project in Pune’s Sus. During the hearings, Sigma One Shilp Ventures had pleaded not guilty of delayed possession and argued that the project was delayed due to reasons beyond their control. A recovery warrant was also issued against Pune-based Darode Jog Homes Pvt Ltd.