NEW DELHI: The Delhi Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT) has overturned a Rs 1 crore penalty levied on the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) for not registering a housing project.
The DDA contended that the Rohini project was finished before RERA’s establishment in Delhi in 2017, thus making registration nonessential.
“The documents being sought were unavailable when the authority issued its orders. Since these documents are crucial for the case, it is just to return the matter to the authority for a review of the complaint within two months,” stated the REAT in its recent ruling.
Consequently, REAT annulled RERA’s order imposing the Rs 1 crore fine on DDA and retracted the directive to lodge a criminal complaint against the agency’s vice-chairman for violating real estate regulations.
Earlier in January, RERA criticized DDA for not registering its “Residential Plotting Project/Scheme, sector-7, Rohini,” deeming it ongoing and claiming “willful default.” It ordered a halt on all future sales until registration was finalized.
In its appeal, DDA, represented by lawyers Anil Sharma and Vrinda Kapoor Dev, argued that the project was completed before the Act took effect on May 1, 2017. They presented a clarification from the ministry of housing and urban affairs confirming that projects completed before 2017 do not need RERA approval, alongside a completion certificate and evidence of sewerage service handover to the Delhi Jal Board in August 2009.
The resident welfare association (RWA) of the housing society opposed the appeal, arguing that the project remains ongoing under RERA and contesting the validity of DDA’s documents. The RWA also claimed that the completion certificate, based on the 1982 layout plan, did not consider the amended 1985 plan.
However, REAT tasked RERA with evaluating both DDA’s submissions and the RWA’s objections.
