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TOI analysis finds repeated deadline extensions in MahaRERA projects

TOI analysed 4,237 registrations on MahaRERA's list of projects kept in abeyance after their completion dates lapsed, as it stood on September 10, 2026. It found 1,154, or 27.2%, with at least one recorded extension event, 392 with two or more and 110 with three or more. Among the 110, at least 12 claimed 95%-plus completion and five claimed 100% while seeking more time. MahaRERA logged 4,204 fresh registrations and 3,687 extensions in 2025-26.

Written by AI from Times of India — Top · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published

Source

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Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)
  • TOI analysed 4,237 registrations on MahaRERA's abeyance list as it stood on Sept 10, 2026, finding 1,154 (27.2%) with at least one recorded extension event, 392 with two or more and 110 with three or more. — Figures appear in source, attributed to TOI's analysis using a public reconstruction of MahaRERA filings by ReraGenie; not independently verifiable here.
  • In 2025-26 MahaRERA reported 4,204 fresh registrations, 2,488 corrections and 3,687 timeline extensions, with extensions 35.5% of the three categories. — Attributed in source to MahaRERA's own annual figures; internal arithmetic stated by the source.
  • Among 110 projects examined, at least 12 claimed 95%-plus completion and at least five claimed 100% completion while seeking more time. — Attributed to TOI's examination of MahaRERA records; described as 'at least' counts.
  • In May 2026 MahaRERA issued show-cause notices to 8,212 of 33,029 registered projects for missing quarterly progress reports. — Figure appears in source and is attributed to MahaRERA action; no order number cited.
  • FPCE estimates ₹12.44 lakh crore affecting around 27.6 lakh families, against an Amitabh Kant committee citation of IBA estimates of 4.12 lakh stressed units worth ₹4.08 lakh crore. — Both figures attributed to named bodies; source notes the FPCE figure is modelled, not a project-by-project count.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI ఆర్థిక విశ్లేషకులు · తెలుగు

గడువు పొడిగింపు అనేది నిర్మాణ రంగంలో సహజమే — కానీ మహారేరా గణాంకాలు చూపిస్తున్నది వేరు: పొడిగింపు ఇప్పుడు మినహాయింపు కాకుండా వ్యవస్థలో ఒక సాధారణ లావాదేవీగా మారింది. 2025-26లో 4,204 కొత్త రిజిస్ట్రేషన్లకు 3,687 పొడిగింపులు నమోదైనవి అంటే, నియంత్రణ సంస్థ పని చాలా భాగం పాత టైమ్‌లైన్‌లను తిరగరాయడంలోనే గడుస్తోంది. ఆర్థికంగా చూస్తే ఈ ఆలస్యం ఖర్చు ప్రధానంగా కొనుగోలుదారుడిపైనే పడుతుంది — అతను EMI, అద్దె రెండూ కడుతూ, పెట్టిన మూలధనం ఇరుక్కుపోయిన స్థితిలో ఉంటాడు.

  • ఆలస్యం అసలు ఖర్చు కొనుగోలుదారుడిదే: సెక్షన్ 18 కింద నెలవారీ వడ్డీ హక్కు కాగితంపై ఉన్నా, దానిని అమలు చేయించుకోవడానికే ఏళ్లు పడుతున్నట్టు కథనంలోని కేసులు సూచిస్తున్నాయి.
  • 95-100 శాతం పూర్తయినట్టు చెప్పుకుంటూనే అదనపు సమయం కోరిన 12 ప్రాజెక్టులు — ఇవి పూర్తికాని పనికంటే, చివరి దశ నిధుల కొరత లేదా NOC/అనుమతుల అడ్డంకిని సూచించే ఆర్థిక లక్షణం కావచ్చు.
  • రిజిస్ట్రేషన్‌ను సజీవంగా ఉంచడం వాణిజ్యపరంగా విలువైనది — అమ్ముడుపోని ఫ్లాట్లు అమ్మడానికి పొడిగింపు నంబర్ అవసరమని నాలుగు ప్రాజెక్టుల ప్రమోటర్లు స్పష్టంగా చెప్పారని కథనం పేర్కొంది; ఇది ప్రోత్సాహకాల (incentive) సమస్యను చూపుతుంది.
  • నియంత్రణ సంస్థ వాదనలోనూ ఆర్థిక తర్కం ఉంది: రిజిస్ట్రేషన్ రద్దు చేస్తే పని ఆగి, అప్పటికే డబ్బు కట్టిన కొనుగోలుదారులకే మరింత నష్టం — అందుకే షరతులతో కొనసాగింపు 'బ్యాలెన్స్ ఆఫ్ కన్వీనియెన్స్' అని 10 ఉత్తర్వుల్లో పేర్కొన్నట్టు కథనం చెబుతోంది.
  • ఇరుక్కుపోయిన ప్రాజెక్టుల మొత్తం విలువపై అమితాబ్ కాంత్ కమిటీ ఉదహరించిన ₹4.08 లక్షల కోట్లు, FPCE అంచనా ₹12.44 లక్షల కోట్లు — ఈ భారీ తేడాయే విధాన రూపకల్పనకు అవసరమైన విశ్వసనీయ డేటాబేస్ లేకపోవడాన్ని బయటపెడుతోంది.

What to watch — 2025 సెప్టెంబర్‌లో ప్రారంభమైన యూనిఫైడ్ రేరా పోర్టల్ ప్రాజెక్టుల పూర్తి ప్రయాణాన్ని (పొడిగింపులతో సహా) బహిరంగంగా చూపే డేటాబేస్‌గా మారుతుందా, అలాగే 51 శాతం అలాట్టీ సమ్మతి, సైట్ తనిఖీ లాంటివి పొడిగింపుకు ముందే తప్పనిసరి అవుతాయా అన్నది గమనించాల్సిన అంశం.

27.2 శాతం అనేది వైఫల్య రేటు కాదని కథనమే స్పష్టం చేసింది — పొడిగింపు పొందిన ప్రాజెక్టులలో ఎన్ని నిజంగా పూర్తయ్యాయో, ఆలస్యానికి ఎంత భాగం ప్రమోటర్ల చేతిలో లేని కారణాలదో, కొనుగోలుదారులపై పడిన మొత్తం ఆర్థిక భారం ఎంతో ఈ విశ్లేషణ నిర్ధారించలేదు.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 10 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) was meant to discipline a sector where homebuyers had little recourse against delay; it came fully into force on May 1, 2017, with each state framing rules and appointing its own authority. MahaRERA, operational since 2017, is among the oldest and busiest such regulators. A TOI analysis of MahaRERA's list of projects kept in abeyance after their completion dates lapsed examines how often extra time granted to delayed projects actually results in completion. It finds repeated extension filings, "almost complete" claims that stretch for years, and no national public database tracking a project's full journey.

Key facts

  • TOI analysed 4,237 registrations on MahaRERA's lapse-related abeyance list as it stood on September 10, 2026.
  • A public reconstruction of MahaRERA filings by ReraGenie identified 1,154 of the 4,237 (27.2%) with at least one recorded extension-history event, 392 with two or more, and 110 with three or more.
  • Among the 110 projects TOI checked against MahaRERA records, at least 12 filings described the project as 95%-plus complete while seeking more time; at least five claimed 100% completion.
  • In 2025-26 MahaRERA reported 4,204 fresh registrations, 2,488 corrections and 3,687 timeline extensions - nearly 88 extensions per 100 fresh registrations, or 35.5% of the three categories.
  • Gajanan Plaza, Borivali: promoter reported 97% onsite completion in January 2020; original completion date Dec 31, 2018; revised date on MahaRERA's page as of September 2026 is April 30, 2028, including a four-month blanket force majeure extension under MahaRERA Order 66/2026.
  • In May 2026 MahaRERA issued show-cause notices to 8,212 of 33,029 registered housing projects for failing to file quarterly progress reports for January-March by the April 20 deadline.
  • All 10 MahaRERA Section 7(3) orders of 2025 examined by TOI recorded the promoter's failure to obtain 51% majority allottee consent, yet all 10 granted further time on 'balance of convenience' grounds.
  • Amitabh Kant-headed committee cited Indian Banks' Association estimates of about 4.12 lakh stressed dwelling units worth ₹4.08 lakh crore in legacy stalled projects; FPCE's modelled estimate is ₹12.44 lakh crore affecting about 27.6 lakh families.

Timeline

  1. 2012Some Gajanan Plaza buyers had been promised possession by this year, having booked residential flats before the project was converted to commercial use.
  2. 2016The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act is passed.
  3. May 1, 2017RERA comes fully into force; MahaRERA begins work the same year.
  4. 2017Bombay High Court's Neelkamal Realtors judgment holds continuation beyond the ordinary extension framework can be considered case by case in exceptional, compelling circumstances.
  5. December 31, 2018Original registered completion date for Gajanan Plaza, Borivali.
  6. January 2020Gajanan Plaza promoter tells MahaRERA that 97% of the project is complete onsite.
  7. January 2023Engineer's certificate for Indraprasthanagari Phase 1, Pune, puts project cost at ₹16.62 crore with ₹1.66 crore still to be spent.
  8. April 2024A Karnataka regulatory order records a project as 94% complete; a later order cites 76%, relying on progress data over two years old.
  9. July 202411 complainants across seven Gajanan Plaza units, who had paid a combined ₹1.67 crore, are still before MahaRERA seeking enforcement of orders in their favour.
  10. February 2025At a MahaRERA hearing the Gajanan Plaza promoter seeks time until December 2027, citing financial dependence on a proposed Phase 2.

Who has a stake

  • Homebuyers in delayed projects — Possession keeps receding; under Section 18 they are entitled to monthly interest for delay until possession, or refund with interest if they withdraw.
  • MahaRERA — Must balance revoking registration against keeping projects alive; extensions now form 35.5% of its registration, correction and extension work.
  • Developers/promoters — Extensions keep registrations alive; in four of the 110 projects promoters said an extension or extension number was needed to keep selling unsold flats.
  • Forum for People's Collective Efforts (FPCE) and its president Abhay Upadhyay — Argues 'RERA is watertight, what has gone wrong is the practice built around it'; wants hard questioning before extensions and greater use of Section 8.
  • Union housing ministry / Centre — Launched the Unified RERA Portal but told Parliament in March 2026 that detailed state-level data is not centrally maintained.
  • Banks and lenders — IBA estimates around 4.12 lakh stressed dwelling units involving ₹4.08 lakh crore in legacy stalled projects.

Why it matters

Ten years after RERA took effect, the analysis suggests the key question is no longer whether delayed projects need more time, but how regulators decide when more time is still a solution and when it has become just another deadline. With no public national database linking a project's full journey, buyers cannot see how often extra time delivers homes, while frozen accounts and repeated extensions leave lakhs of families in limbo.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

  • RERA Act passed in 2016; came fully into force on May 1, 2017; a central statute with state-level rules and authorities.
  • Section 6 caps extensions under it at one year in aggregate; Section 7(3) lets a regulator keep registration in force with conditions instead of revoking it.
  • Section 8 allows a project to be taken out of a promoter's hands; Section 18 gives allottees interest for delay or refund with interest.
  • Bombay High Court's Neelkamal Realtors judgment (2017) allowed case-by-case continuation in exceptional, compelling circumstances.
  • Unified RERA Portal launched September 2025 with 1,51,113 projects registered nationally.
  • MahaRERA Order 66/2026 granted a blanket four-month force majeure extension applied automatically to eligible projects in Maharashtra.

Mains framing

The TOI analysis of 4,237 MahaRERA abeyance-list registrations - 1,154 (27.2%) with at least one extension event, 392 with two or more and 110 with three or more - points not to a defect in RERA's text but to the practice around it. Multiple statutory routes exist: Section 6 caps extensions at one year in aggregate, while Section 7(3) allows continuation with conditions instead of revocation, and the Bombay High Court's Neelkamal Realtors ruling permits case-by-case relief in exceptional circumstances. In practice, force majeure appears to be treated almost as a given, blanket extensions (Order 66/2026) are applied automatically, and all 10 Section 7(3) orders TOI examined granted more time despite the absence of the 51% allottee consent, reasoning that stopping a project would hurt buyers. Compounding this is weak information: promoter filings claiming 95%-100% completion sit alongside architect certificates showing pending fire and lift NOCs; 8,212 of 33,029 projects missed quarterly progress reports in one quarter; and the housing ministry told Parliament state-level data is not centrally maintained. The way forward suggested in the source is stricter scrutiny and site verification before, not after, granting extensions, verified progress data rather than self-declared percentages, a publicly accessible national record of each project's full journey, and readier use of Section 8 while projects remain financially viable, so that a RERA registration carries a real guarantee to the ordinary buyer.

Key terms

Abeyance list (lapse-related)
MahaRERA status for projects whose completion dates lapsed; bank accounts are frozen and promoters cannot execute agreements for sale or sale deeds until compliances are met.
Force majeure (Section 6)
Ground on which a promoter may seek extension of a project's registration, limited to one year in aggregate under Section 6.
Section 7(3)
Provision allowing the authority, instead of revoking registration, to let a project continue subject to conditions.
51% majority allottee consent
Consent referred to in MahaRERA's procedure for post-lapse continuation; absent in all 10 Section 7(3) orders TOI examined.
MahaRERA
Maharashtra's real estate regulatory authority, functioning since 2017, among India's oldest and busiest RERA bodies.
Unified RERA Portal
Centre's portal launched in September 2025 showing 1,51,113 registered projects nationally.

Practice questions

  1. Ten years after RERA came into force, has the practice of repeated project extensions undermined the statute's promise to homebuyers? Examine with reference to Sections 6, 7(3), 8 and 18.
  2. Discuss the role of data and disclosure in real estate regulation in India. How would a national project-level database change accountability for stalled housing projects?
  3. Critically evaluate the 'balance of convenience' reasoning used by regulators to permit continuation of lapsed projects without the prescribed allottee consent.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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