Bengaluru: The state govt is rolling out a common digital system to track and enforce Revenue Recovery Certificates (RRCs) issued by regulatory bodies such as K-Rera, seeking to bridge the gap between favourable orders and actual recovery of dues from defaulting builders.An RRC is a document issued by an authority or tribunal to a district revenue official ordering the latter to collect unpaid dues, fines, or debts from a defaulter (in this case, it would be the builder) by treating the sum as an arrear of land revenue.Additional chief secretary (revenue) Rajendra Kumar Kataria said the system would pull information from govt databases, including Bhoomi and Kaveri for land and property details, vehicle databases and property-tax records. The govt is also exploring integration of bank account details.“Once the name of a builder or company and its directors is entered, the system should fetch details of properties, vehicles and other assets held in their names across the state. Earlier, we could not trace properties held by the same builder in other districts because there was no common denominator. Now, the company or director’s name can help identify urban, rural and agricultural properties and enable the respective authorities to attach them immediately,” he said.The SOP on revenue recovery was prepared in consultation with revenue, enforcement and Rera officials. Kataria said the end-to-end system is in its final phase and is expected to be operational by the middle of next month. It will eventually cover govt recoveries under various laws, including excise dues, and not just Rera cases.Rs 1,090 crore recovery pendingThe move comes amid a huge gap between Rera orders and actual recovery. As of Aug 10, K-Rera data showed 2,556 RRCs worth Rs 1,214.3 crore had been issued. Only 329 RRCs involving Rs 123.8 crore had been recovered, leaving 2,227 RRCs worth Rs 1,090.5 crore pending.To address the delay, K-Rera issued a circular on July 28 introducing a time-bound standard operating procedure for recovery. Under it, interest, penalty or compensation can be recovered as arrears of land revenue, while Rera orders can be enforced like civil court decrees.The regulatory authority will review compliance after 60 days.On default, homebuyers can file execution petitions, with hearings within two weeks and builders given another fortnight to comply. Persistent defaulters must disclose assets, including bank accounts. Unpaid dues will trigger RRCs for attachment and auction, while IT systems will track executions.K-Rera chairperson Rakesh Singh said the SOP was intended to streamline recovery in a time-bound manner. “Rera is a relatively new legislation, and the objective has always been to ensure homebuyers get justice without unnecessary delays. Since a majority of the cases are from Bengaluru, this move is expected to particularly benefit homebuyers in the city,” he said.Homebuyers seek stronger enforcementHomebuyer groups welcomed the SOP but said orders would have little meaning without effective execution.Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar, convener, Karnataka Home Buyers Forum, said, “Any order needs to be executed by the revenue department as arrears of land revenue, and any order of the Rera tribunal is equivalent to that of a civil court.”MS Shankar, general secretary, Forum for People’s Collective Efforts, said, “Karnataka Rera’s new SOP is a step in the right direction, but RRCs cannot remain stalled in revenue offices while defaulting builders continue to secure project extensions and launch new projects.”
