Bhubaneswar: Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), which came into force in 2016 to regulate the property market and more importantly, safeguard the interest of homebuyers, has shown mixed results in Odisha a decade later, with greater transparency and stronger buyer rights on one hand and enforcement gaps and institutional fragility on the other.In 2017, after the introduction of the Act in the previous year, Odisha notified its RERA rules and set up the Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) later that year, bringing both ongoing and new housing projects under regulatory control. Registration of real estate projects and agents was made mandatory, marking a clear break from the past when developers could sell apartments without basic approvals or disclosure of timelines.Since its inception, ORERA has registered more than 1,400 housing projects across the state, rejected hundreds of deficient applications and directed errant promoters to either complete delayed projects or refund buyers. For many homebuyers, this ushered in unprecedented access to information on approvals, construction status and financial progress. “Our objective is to bring transparency and stability into the sector,” ORERA chairperson Asit Mohapatra said.The creation of the Odisha Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (OREAT) further strengthened the framework. In several landmark rulings, the tribunal broadened the scope of RERA protection, holding banks accountable when they step into the role of promoters.The tribunal also recognised that even gram panchayats can be aggrieved persons under the Act. Officials said these orders expanded the Act’s consumer-centric character in the state.Over the past two years, the state govt also tightened enforcement by integrating ORERA with land and urban governance platforms, mandating district collectors and urban local bodies to flag illegal real estate activity. The move was particularly made to enable recovery of penalties through revenue laws. A conciliation and dispute resolution cell was also introduced to offer faster and less adversarial solutions for buyer-builder disputes.However, the Act’s limitations in Odisha have been equally stark. Last year, ORERA was defunct for months due to vacancies at the top, leaving buyers unable to file complaints or seek relief. Activists argued this exposed a structural flaw in a law meant to provide continuous consumer protection.Enforcement remains another weak point. Though ORERA has imposed penalties running into crores on defaulting promoters, actual recovery has been minimal, allowing some violators to continue operations with limited deterrence.Unregulated plotting schemes, especially in semi-urban and rural pockets, continue to evade effective control, highlighting jurisdictional challenges between planning authorities and revenue administration despite RERA’s expanded reach.“The role of RERA is to protect homebuyers. The dispute resolution cell is one initiative we have taken to provide a platform for buyers and developers to resolve issues amicably. We will continue to strengthen RERA in the coming days,” Mohapatra added.
