BHUBANESWAR: The Housing and Urban Development Department has mandated that all planning authorities, including the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, must notify the Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) regarding plan approvals for various housing and plotting projects.
This step will facilitate ORERA’s follow-ups on developers’ activities. This initiative follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recommendation during a Pragati review meeting for state governments to enhance ORERA’s effectiveness and ensure the enforcement of its orders for the benefit of homebuyers.
Sources indicate that the ORERA chairperson recently communicated an eight-point agenda to the Chief Secretary aimed at reinforcing ORERA’s operations, including the requirement for planning authorities to inform ORERA about plan approvals to ensure proper follow-ups with developers.
Following this recommendation, the Chief Secretary convened a high-level meeting with housing department officials to discuss the matter. As a result, the state has directed the housing department to notify ORERA about plan approvals.
During the meeting, it was also agreed that ORERA’s new website should integrate with the government’s SUJOG portal for real-time monitoring and updates regarding plan approval statuses. The SUJOG portal is utilized by the government to provide online approvals for various projects.
“The authority has made several recommendations to enhance ORERA’s operations. Discussions on two key matters were prioritized, and directives were issued to the urban development department accordingly,” stated a senior ORERA official.
ORERA recently revoked the registration certificate of a prominent housing project in the city upon discovering that the access road used by the developer actually belonged to the railways. Sources reported that confusion arose during the approval process.
