The Maharashtra government has announced a statewide enforcement drive to accelerate recovery from defaulting developers, after official data revealed that the state’s real estate regulator has recovered just 34 per cent of outstanding dues ordered in favour of homebuyers. The move could impact thousands of purchasers awaiting refunds or compensation under rulings issued by Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
Figures placed before the state legislature show that recovery certificates worth more than Rs 792 crore have been issued against errant builders. Of this, roughly Rs 279 crore has been realised through the revenue recovery mechanism, while over Rs 430 crore remains pending. Cases involving about Rs 103 crore are currently under proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal. The special recovery drive will focus on districts where compliance has been particularly weak. Senior officials indicated that the administration will coordinate with revenue, transport and other departments to trace movable and immovable assets of developers who have failed to honour refund and compensation orders. If necessary, central tax authorities may also be approached to track financial holdings. The enforcement push marks a critical moment for Real Estate Regulation and Development Act, commonly known as RERA, which was enacted in 2017 to improve transparency and accountability in India’s property market. In Maharashtra, the law is administered through MahaRERA, one of the country’s most active state regulators in terms of project registrations and complaint disposal. Urban policy experts say recovery not just adjudication determines the credibility of the regulatory framework. While Maharashtra has been praised for digitising project disclosures and publishing detailed order records, delayed execution of recovery certificates has diluted the impact of favourable rulings for buyers.
In many cases, consumers must rely on district collectors to initiate revenue recovery proceedings, a process that can be lengthy and administratively complex. Housing advocates argue that stronger enforcement is essential for restoring trust in a sector historically marked by project delays, stalled construction and opaque financial practices. Timely refunds are especially critical for middle-income households that invest life savings into under-construction homes. At the same time, real estate economists caution that aggressive recovery action must be balanced with structured insolvency processes in genuinely distressed projects, to avoid pushing viable developments into liquidation. Maharashtra’s urban centres, particularly Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune, continue to see significant redevelopment activity, and regulatory certainty plays a key role in sustaining end-user demand.
As the state intensifies its drive, the effectiveness of inter-departmental coordination and asset tracing will determine whether recovery rates improve meaningfully. For homebuyers awaiting long-pending refunds, the coming months will test whether regulatory orders translate into actual financial relief a benchmark that ultimately defines the success of RERA’s promise of a more accountable housing market.
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Maharashtra MahaRERA recovery drive intensifies
