Ombudsman a must for the housing sector

The real estate business has always been known for the source of black money, with housing projects accounting for a significant share. The measures to curb black money generation have either been non-existent or seldom adhered to.  The opening up of the economy in the early 1990s, the emergence of India as an IT powerhouse and financial liberalisation measures have led to GDP growth picking up, employment generation improving, and purchasing power of the people rising, especially with retail/consumer loans being granted liberally. These developments resulted in a boom in the housing sector, and corporate and multinational companies began entering the sector in a big way to exploit the newfound opportunity to make huge profit. Individual owners of houses and apartments are invariably at the mercy of the developers and are duped in several ways. Cost escalation, delays in the execution of projects, pricing for built-up and carpet areas, among others, are areas where the prospective buyers are taken for a ride. The country lacks a comprehensive/exclusive law to take care of the transactions and the related disputes under real estate, particularly in the housing segment in large cities and sub-urban centres. Systems are not in place to ensure full compliance with the laws of the land relating to land acquisition, laying of roads, provision of public parks, taxation, accounting standards and whether all the parties involved in various deals adhere to the prudential norms expected of them. In the process, along with the buyers, the economy suffers, as erosion in ethics and values with regard to land acquisition, developing housing projects, pricing pattern, accountability, and so on, affects all segments of society and the general credibility of the whole system is at stake.The corporate giants in the field, being in the private sector, are not covered under the RTI Act and their accounting standards are not free from lapses and deficiencies. A national housing ombudsman would, therefore, be a necessity not only for prospective buyers but also for occupants and the authorities. Consumer forums and the Consumer Protection Act cannot take on these types of cases as they are already flooded with several other cases and the complexities of housing-related cases differ in content and scope. The need for some sort of checks and balances exclusively for housing projects would be welcome to ensure that all concerned conduct themselves appropriately and there is some semblance of order, uniformity in the maintenance of accounts and transparency in all these types of transactions.

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