RERA Falters in Rural J&K: Unregulated Real Estate Colonies Flourish

The implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) in rural areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir continues to face serious hurdles. These issues stem from a lack of institutional clarity, the absence of designated layout approval authorities, and poor inter-departmental coordination. As a result, unregulated colony development and mounting violations are prevalent on the ground.

The Jammu and Kashmir Real Estate Regulatory Authority (JKRERA) has recently brought these systemic gaps to the attention of the government. These gaps are undermining the core objective of the law, which is to ensure transparent, planned, and accountable growth in the real estate sector.

One of the most glaring issues is the absence of a clearly designated authority for granting layout approvals for colonies in rural areas. While RERA mandates the compulsory registration of real estate projects, developers operating in rural belts find themselves trapped in a regulatory vacuum. Even developers who genuinely want to comply with the law are unable to do so due to the lack of clarity on where and from whom layout approvals should be obtained.

This regulatory void has led to the mushrooming of colonies without approved layouts, automatically pushing projects into technical violations. Furthermore, multiple departmental approvals—from Revenue, Town Planning, Rural Development, Housing, Forest Departments, Power Development, and Public Health Engineering (PHE)—are significantly delaying projects and discouraging compliance.

Developers are often forced to run from one department to another, sometimes for months or even years, to obtain the necessary clearances. This bureaucratic red tape not only delays projects but also deters developers from adhering to RERA regulations.

To address these issues, JKRERA has emphasized the urgent need for the early designation of an authority for granting layout approvals in rural areas. Additionally, the introduction of a Single Window System is crucial to streamline the approval process and reduce the delays caused by multiple departmental clearances.

Officials have cautioned that unless roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, the current situation will continue to breed violations rather than compliance. Unchecked and unplanned colony development in rural areas will not only defeat the purpose of RERA but also create long-term infrastructure, environmental, and legal challenges for the Union Territory.

JKRERA has recommended a centralized mechanism to receive applications, disseminate them to all concerned departments, and track approval timelines. While urban local bodies have notified Building Bye-Laws and defined approval mechanisms, rural areas are virtually operating in an unregulated grey zone, making the enforcement of RERA extremely difficult.

The Housing and Urban Development Department has initiated an exercise to amend the relevant rules to remove hurdles in the strict implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act. However, no clear timeline or interim arrangement has been communicated so far. Moreover, dedicated cells in the offices of the Deputy Commissioners have not been established in several districts, despite being crucial for monitoring and reporting RERA violations.

The delay persists, even though these cells are envisaged as ground-level watchdogs to ensure that illegal colonies, misleading advertisements, and unregistered projects do not escape scrutiny. Unless prompt action is taken on the issues raised by JKRERA, strict implementation of the law across all parts of the Union Territory will remain elusive.

With unregulated colonies steadily coming up and compliance remaining abysmally low, the ball now squarely lies in the government's court to move beyond assurances and put in place a functional, time-bound regulatory mechanism before the disorder becomes irreversible. Even several government agencies are reluctant to strictly adhere to RERA provisions, thereby diluting the authority of the regulator. This reluctance sends a wrong signal to private players and further weakens the enforcement of the law.