Odisha tightens real estate regulations: ORERA to get more teeth, monthly enforcement calendar soon

In a major step towards strengthening the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, in Odisha, the state government has unveiled a slew of decisions aimed at enhancing transparency, coordination, and enforcement. 

These decisions were taken during a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary at Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar.

In a significant move, all planning and development authorities under the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department are now required to notify ORERA in real-time regarding any project plan approvals. A digital protocol for seamless data sharing will be developed, ending the long-standing practice of information gaps between departments.

The integration of ORERA 2.0 with the Bhulekh and SUJOG portals will reportedly help eliminate data duplication and allow for cross-verification of approved projects.

The H&UD Department will coordinate with the Revenue & Disaster Management Department to enforce ORERA’s orders and recover penalties under the OPDR Act. For the first time, enforcement support from BDA/BMC will be made available to ORERA, and a monthly enforcement calendar will be published, an official release read.

Monthly coordination meetings between ORERA, H&UD, and Revenue Departments have been institutionalised, and district collectors and tehsildars will now report illegal real estate activities to ORERA regularly.

As per the release, implementation of RERA provisions has also been made a permanent agenda item in collector review meetings, ensuring continuous oversight at the district level. Additionally, key sanctioned posts like Joint Secretary (Admin) and Deputy Secretary (Enforcement) in ORERA will be filled on a priority basis.

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ORERA has also been empowered to hire retired government servants for sanctioned posts through open advertisements. Regular review meetings between ORERA and H&UD Department will now be held to address grievances in a time-bound manner.

These reforms mark a paradigm shift in Odisha’s real estate regulatory framework, aiming to protect homebuyers’ rights and ensure builder accountability.