Headless & sans members, ORERA in limbo; Odisha makes H&UD principal secretary regulatory authority
BHUBANESWAR: With all key posts in the Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) including that of chairman lying vacant, the state government on Monday appointed the principal secretary, Housing and Urban Development department as its regulatory authority.
As per the notification of the H&UD department, the principal secretary will remain the regulatory authority of ORERA as per the provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 until further orders.
The ORERA functions with three senior officials - a chairman and two members -- member (judicial) and member (administration). After ORERA chairman Siddhanta Das resigned on February 28, the H&UD department had appointed member (judicial) Gopal Chandra Patnaik as the acting chairperson. Patnaik retired on May 9, a week after the retirement of member (administration) Pradeep Biswal, leaving the authority headless.
Sources said though a three-member panel has shortlisted names and submitted it to the state government for appointment to the three positions, some home buyers, owing to the delay in appointment, moved the Orissa High Court and the Supreme Court and the matter is now sub-judice in the HC. The principal secretary of the H&UD department has been appointed as the regulatory authority for the body as a temporary measure, they added.
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