Maharashtra forms panel to probe developers who used fake documents to get approvals

The MahaRERA has cancelled the registrations of more than 60 real estate projects since last year after the allegations surfaced.

The Urban Development Department of Maharashtra has formed a five-member committee headed by the Thane district collector to probe allegations that developers in Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) area near Mumbai used fake documents to obtain construction approvals.

Also read: MahaRERA suspends registration of 52 real estate projects near Mumbai

The developers used these fake documents to procure permissions from the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA), according to the KDMC. The MahaRERA has cancelled the registrations of more than 60 real estate projects since last year after the allegations surfaced.

All the projects are located 50 to 150 km from Mumbai in the KDMC area, which is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. More than 60 developers are being investigated.

The committee will include two members of the KDMC. The committee has been directed to submit its report within two months, according to a state government resolution issued on July 5.

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Mehul R Thakkar

Special Correspondent|Moneycontrol

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According to the KDMC, the accused developers had allegedly cheated homebuyers from 27 villages by forging documents. The documents appeared to show that permission for the construction of houses had been issued by the KDMC and the papers were used to register the projects under RERA.

The fraud allegedly took place from 2017 to 2022, and homebuyers shelled out Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh for each tenement built by these developers.

Following this, the MahaRERA started suo motu hearings and said it would approach the Urban Development Department of Maharashtra to immediately put in place a system to make details of all milestone approvals relevant to buyers of real estate projects available online.

In February 2023, the Maharashtra government directed municipal corporations, councils, and local authorities in towns to publish data on all relevant approvals for real estate projects, including commencement certificates and occupation certificates, on a website for easy public access.