No relief for home buyers yet: RERA in Karnataka remains a toothless tiger

Real estate

Activists say while there have been swift delivery of judgements, Karnataka should follow Madhya Pradesh model.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representative

Two years into existence, the much-hyped Real Estate Regulatory Authority Karnataka (RERA-K) has failed to provide any real relief to the plight of homebuyers or protest them against builders who have failed to deliver. RERA in Karnataka has been in effect since July 2017 after the RERA Act was passed by both the Houses of Parliament in March 2016. With the Act coming into force, home buyers had a hope that they will get compensation if there were delays in the delivery of a project or be protected from overcharging. Since then, the RERA in Karnataka has only been effective in sending out warnings to web portals for featuring ongoing and ready real estate projects without RERA registration numbers. Moreover, some web portals were asked to register themselves with the regulatory authority. But when it comes to coercive action against defaulting builders, RERA has been nothing more than a toothless tiger, activists and victims say.  In the end of 2019, RERA-K in its own publication said that it is yet to recover fines of more than Rs 100 crore from 41 real estate companies in the city. TNM spoke to multiple victims who have complained against non-delivery of service by real estate companies but they say that multiple representations to RERA has not yielded any help. Plot buyers of the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout (NPKL) which is getting developed by government-run Bangalore Development Authority have been left in the lurch close to a year. While the layout was supposed to be ready by March 2018, no major work has begun. The plot buyers have complained to RERA multiple times in a year but till then there has been no respite for them. Sridhar, President of NPKL Forum President, said,  “It is a tragic situation for all of us at NPKL buyers forum. The orders of RERA is quite ineffective. This should be given judicial powers as now all the powers are just on paper. It is a good law brought by the central government and the respective state governments should implement it to make it as effective as possible as land is a state issue.” Satyan Chawla who bought an apartment in Mantri Webcity apartments was due to get his ready apartment by 2016. But failing to see any work done, they approached RERA in 2019. In its March 2019 order, RERA-K ordered that Mantri should pay compensation to Satyan and many others. But will now the amount has not been paid, victims allege. He said, “After our efforts at the National Consumer Forum failed, we approached RERA. We got a favourable order in March but there is no respite for us. Whenever we approach RERA officials, they say they have forwarded the complaint to the DC office.” Srinivasan Shankar, Secretary of Pan India Organization Forum for People's Collective Efforts, and a noted RERA activist, said, in principal RERA-K as a quasi-judicial body has worked wonders when compared to any other forum for real estate disputes. While disputes in other legal forums may go on for a considerable time, RERA is bound to settle disputes within two months. “So far as of now till December 31, RERA-K has delivered more than 1,000 judgements. This is a very good number when we compare it to Consumer Forum or other courts of law.  While initially there were a few hiccups in the first few orders, now the only worrying issue is the implementation of the orders,” he said. He added, “In order to cure this problem, we have been writing to the government and meeting with officials asking for a separate recovery department for recovering dues from builders or enforcing orders for over last one year and more. But unfortunately, due to frequent transfers of officials, it has not seen any progress.” He suggested there is a clear lack of political will in helping home buyers who are being duped.  According to the current provisions, the Deputy Commissioner of the respective district has the authority to act on the RERA orders. The DC’s office itself has to issue another round of notice to the defaulter before it starts attaching properties of the developer. And further, the DC has to auction the seized property and recover the cost. Speaking to TNM, RERA-K Secretary KS Latha Kumari confirmed that they have no authority to recover assets themselves but can only forward the detailes to the DC.  But Shankar and his fellow activists have been advocating that Karnataka follows Madhya Pradesh’s model. There a district judge level officer having powers of civil and revenue court acts as the recovery officer.

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Mangaluru cops asked for Rs 2 crore as 'deposit' for anti-CAA protests, allege activists

Protest

Activists say that since the December 19 violence in Mangaluru, it has become harder to obtain permission from the police for anti-CAA demonstrations.

Harsha Raj Gatty

PTI File image

Mangaluru police demanded a ‘cautionary deposit’ of Rs 2 crore from those wishing to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), activists have alleged.  According to the Secretary of Muslim Central Committee (MCC), Mohammed Haneef, following the December 19 violence, it has become harder to obtain permission from the police to hold any demonstration against the CAA. "They are demanding a cautionary deposit of as high as Rs 2 crore to hold a demonstration anywhere in public. In my recollection, never before in history has the city police asked for such deposits. In the 50 years of its existence, the MCC has been known for conducting peaceful protests and demonstrations, despite any disagreement with any government policy,” he said. According to Haneef, MCC was forced to withdraw its awareness drive on CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) scheduled to be held on January 4, after the police allegedly demanded a large sum of money as a ‘cautionary deposit’ for conducting the protest.  “We have members coming from poor and marginalized sections of the society, how can the police expect such a large amount on such short notice? We have no option but to withdraw our awareness drive since we were not granted any space for peaceful gathering,” he said. In a clarification, Mangaluru City Police said that the permission to conduct the protest at Nehru Maidan was turned down over law and order and traffic issues.  “Nehru Maidan was not a suitable venue for massive gatherings of protestors as civic work is going on in the surrounding area of the ground (Clock Tower to AB Shetty Circle) due to Smart City Project (SCP). Only one route is functional for traffic, roads are dug and it poses a threat to public life if large crowds gather,” the statement read. The statement added that the area is surrounded by hospitals and fire-stations and a large crowd may affect movement.“If the traffic is choked due to the presence of heavy footfall, it might disrupt emergency services from performing their duties. An appeal has already been made to MCC to suggest an alternative proposal,” the statement said. Meanwhile, the organizer of Samana Manaskara Sabhe (SMS), which has been given permission to hold a protest at Hazrath ground at Ullal on Sunday, said that the Mangaluru City Police has taken an undertaking from all 50 members.  “This is unprecedented. We (50 members) had to sign a document that we will be responsible for maintaining law and order during the protest. However, we have not been asked to pay any deposit amount,” he said. Meanwhile, repeated attempts to contact Mangaluru City Police Commissioner PS Harsha were unsuccessful. However, a city police official stated that in the wake of unprecedented violence on December 19, the police has the authority to take the required measures.  “In the previous incident, public property was damaged and the protestors have walked away without any consequence or liability. So it is the need of the hour to fix liability, including financial liability, in the larger public interest,” he said. Story by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP.)

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Karnataka HC strikes down law allowing CMs to appoint Parliamentary Secretaries

Law

The HC was hearing a plea filed in January 2018 after former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had appointed eight such parliamentary secretaries.

TNM Staff

Calling it “unconstitutional”, the Karnataka High Court has struck down the Karnataka Parliamentary Secretaries Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1963, which was amended in 1999.  This means that the Chief Minister cannot appoint any MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) or MLC (Members of Legislative Council) to the post of Parliamentary Secretaries, and in the process, give them the same salary and allowances as a Minister. Currently, the number of ministers that a CM can appoint is regulated by Article 164(1-A) of the Constitution. The High Court contended that the state legislature had no “legislative competence” to pass such a law, reported The New Indian Express. A Parliament Secretary often holds the rank of Minister of State and is assigned to a government department. The Times of India reported that the HC also referred to Bimolanghsu Roy case and observed that the Supreme Court had already decided on the matter and said the state Assembly could not pass a law to allow the appointment of parliamentary secretaries. The judgment on Saturday was given by a division bench headed by Chief Justice AS Oka. The HC was hearing a plea by Bengaluru-based activist Adinarayana and advocate KB Vijaykumar. The case was filed in January 2018 after former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had appointed eight such parliamentary secretaries. In his plea, he contended that this allowed CMs to violate the 15% limit as per Article 164(1-A). The Constitution mandates that the council of ministers cannot go beyond 15% of the total number of MLAs. The directive comes at a time when Karnataka cabinet expansion is yet to take place. CM BS Yediyurappa had promised the newly-elected MLAs that they will be made ministers in the cabinet. The HC noted that the Act worked as a means of giving the post of parliamentary secretaries to those MLAs/ MLCs who cannot be given ministerial portfolios. The HC further said having this law will completely nullify the upper ceiling mandated by the Constitution. Meanwhile, CM BS Yediyurappa is yet to be given a go-ahead by the BJP central leadership to appoint the rebels of the former Congress-JD(S) coalition, who won the recent bye-polls. Their victories have cemented the stability of the state government after their resignation/disqualification paved the way for him to become the CM.

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Three burnt alive in fatal collision between van and bus on highway near Bengaluru

Accident

Four others have been injured in the accident, which took place around 2 am on Saturday.

TNM Staff

In a tragic road accident, three persons were burnt alive on Saturday and another four were injured after a fatal collision between a van and a bus near Bengaluru. The accident took place on National Highway 206 near Doddaguni in Tumakuru’s Gubbi in the wee hours on Sunday, around 2 am, reported The Hindu. According to the police, the impact of the collision was such that both vehicles caught fire. There were seven passengers in the van. Once the van caught fire, the police said, three passengers were trapped in it and could not escape. The four other passengers managed to get out of the vehicle on time.  The bus, which was carrying passengers from Bengaluru to Shivamogga, was gutted in the fire. However, all passengers in the private bus escaped unhurt. They managed to exit the bus through the backdoor and windows once the fire started spreading. Two fire engines were called to tend the fire.  The three deceased have been identified as Vasanthkumar (23), Ramaiah (62) and Narasamma (60). The police said all of them were residents of N Hosahalli in Gubbi taluk.  The other four who managed to escape are Ravikumar, 23, Radhamani, 30, Narasimha Murthy, 40, and Gowramma, 28. The Hindu reported that they were taken to the Tumakuru District Hospital, from where Gowramma was asked to be taken to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru. The UNI reported that the van was carrying Narasamma to a hospital in Nittur (in Tumakuru district) and was accompanied by her relatives and her neighbours when the accident took place. The Gubbi police have registered a case.   The Hindu quoted a police officer as saying that the police suspect fuel tank had caught fire and exploded, which led to the front portion of the bus to be gutted as well. He added efforts are on to nab the driver of the bus who has been absconding since then.

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Yediyurappa to meet Central leadership to discuss Karnataka cabinet expansion

Politics

Currently, there are 18 ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the cabinet, and the sanctioned strength is 34.

PTI

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Saturday said he will visit New Delhi in a weeks time to discuss with the BJP high command about the much-awaited expansion of his cabinet. Senior BJP leaders, including Yediyurappa, have indicated the cabinet expansion may take place sometime after 'Sankranti' festival (mid-January). "In four to six days, I will be going to New Delhi to discuss the ministry expansion and also to discuss with (union) ministers of the departments concerned regarding certain grants for the state and get them released, Yediyurappa told reporters in Hassan. With Yediyurappa making it clear that 11 of the disqualified JDS-Congress MLAs who got re-elected in the December 5 bye-polls on BJP tickets will be made ministers, lobbying has been on within the party for the remaining ministerial berths. Currently, there are 18 ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the cabinet, and the sanctioned strength is 34. Yediyurappa said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked him to come to New Delhi and discuss with central Ministers on certain issues concerning the state, when he raised the matter during the latter's visit to the state. "It is my duty to bring issues concerning the state to the notice of the Prime Minister, I have done it. He has asked me to come to New Delhi and discuss with Ministers of the departments concerned, and he will also speak to them, Yediyurappa said. This comes after the CM on Friday stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him the Centre would consider the state's demands for more funds for development and called him a 'great visonary." Incidentally, the statement from the CM came after he publically made an appeal to release funds to the PM during 'Krishi Karman' awards event in Tumakuru. This had ruffled a few feathers within the BJP and gave political ammunition for the Opposition.

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Why ASHA workers in Karnataka haven’t received their wages

Protest

Thousands of ASHA workers continue to be on an indefinite strike over non-payment of dues.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

After the mammoth protest in Bengaluru by the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers over non-payment of dues, the Karnataka government has met with the leaders of their union. Thousands of women from across the state came out in protest on Friday to bring attention to their plight.  But what is really causing the delay of payments? Some say that it is the fault of technology, and others say that the state government itself is not disbursing the funds even with all the data provided.  Asha workers are entitled to Rs 10,000 every month based on incentives. The Karnataka government pays a fixed amount of Rs 6000 to all ASHA workers, which they have been receiving. The remaining Rs 4000 is paid by the Central government, which gives this money on an incentive basis when all the targets are reached for the month.  'Central funds are not reaching the workers'  According to Nagalakshmi R, the Asha Union State Secretary, the main problem is with the incentives scheme, which is the Centre’s share of the incentives.  Two years ago, in September 2018, the Centre introduced a new centralised data entry system: Reproductive Child Health (RCH) portal. This system of data collection has been severely criticised by experts when it was first introduced, who condemned the surveillance of women’s bodies. The portal has the capacity to know how many children each woman has, and whether the state has been a part of the process, and if the mother has been sterilised. All this, activists allege is to meet the fertility goals of the country by the surveillance of individual mothers. Reports note that in Tamil Nadu, birth certificates cannot be issued without the RCH ID number, linked to the mother’s mobile number.  The ASHA workers' incentives are tied to their compliance of entering all the data into the RCH portal. However, on the ground, ASHA workers found that the problem with the RCH portal is it just doesn’t work. According to Nagalakshmi, the data entry is supposed to be done by the junior health assistant in the public health centres (PHC) but this position lies vacant across the state. Thus, the burden of the entry comes onto the Auxiliary nurse midwife, (ANM), who is the village level nurse.  However, the ANMs often are older women and do not have the competence to operate the software despite trainings. Nagalakshmi says, “They often fail in their duty to enter the data either because they are overworked or because they are older and don’t know how to operate the computers.”  Nagalakshmi says that the lack of good internet connections is also a barrier to the entry of the data. “It is not at all the responsibility of the ASHA workers to enter the data to the internet portal. However, they do it with great difficulty, at their own expense, at the local cyber centres.”  Sujatha from Haveri district says that even though she filled in the data diligently, she doesn’t get the payments as she should. “I have filled in the data every month, yet on some months I get a part payment, and others, I get none of the incentives. We want the government to give us only what is justly due for us, and stop making us run around from pillar to post.”  'Working on solutions': Sriramulu Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu on Friday said the government is working on solutions to the problems the workers are facing. The ASHA Workers Union had suggested penalising ANMs by withholding salaries if they don’t do the data entry, which the state Health Ministry has accepted. Sriramulu also said they would extend the 104 helpline to ASHA workers if they have any concerns.  Nagalakshmi says she is unhappy with what the state government has promised. “The minister met with us, but he did not talk about the money which is due. If the work we have done is good, then we should be paid. The government doesn’t undertake any work without having funds allocated to it. Where are all the funds which were meant for the ASHA workers? We want the money to come in a lumpsum, based on the manual reports that we have.”  She went on to say that the indefinite protest, which began on Friday, will continue. “No orders have been passed regarding our payment backlogs of 15 months. We are going to continue the ASHA workers strike at all districts, until the backlogs are completely paid.” 

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BJP supporters, activists lathicharged by police in Kolar during pro-CAA protest

CAA

Police resorted to lathicharge when protesters tried to divert the procession to MG Road and instead attempted to go to Clock Tower in Kolar at 12 noon.

Prajwal Bhat

Police resorted to lathicharge on BJP supporters and activists in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) who had gathered near SNR Circle in Kolar on Saturday.  Hundreds of protesters gathered at SNR Circle to take out a procession to MG Road where a public meeting was organised under the banner of the Bharatiya Nagarikara Rakshana Vedike in support of the CAA and NRC.  Police resorted to lathicharge when protesters tried to divert the procession from MG Road and attempted to go to Clock Tower in Kolar instead. Kolar SP Karthick Reddy asked the protesters to gather on MG Road where the planned meeting was scheduled to begin. But when protesters resisted and made attempts to force their way to Clock Tower, police resorted to lathi-charge.  "Clock Tower area in Kolar town is a Muslim community area and the BJP protesters were adamant that they want to go there. We decided to lathi-charge and stop the protesters from going towards the Clock Tower," a police official in Kolar told TNM. After the lathicharge, additional police personnel were deployed in Kolar to ensure that protests took place peacefully.  The planned protest at MG Road was attended by BJP State President Nalin Kumar Kateel, Revenue Minister R Ashok, Party General Secretary Muralidhar Rao, among others. Thousands of BJP supporters gathered in front of a stage set up in the area to register their support of the CAA. Pro-CAA protests in other parts of the state have been held peacefully so far.

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