The Mamata Banerjee-government will formally launch the website of West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority on Tuesday, allowing real estate developers and home buyers to register projects and complaints, respectively.

Even though the authority was formed and members took charge from the third week of October 2022, the non-functional website hindered the effective operationalisation of the regulation which is meant to protect the interest of buyers and bring transparency in the opaque sector.

In the absence of a functional website, developers could not register their projects which has been launched over the last 18 months.

Similarly, the buyers could not submit their complaints. Housing minister Aroop Biswas will do the honours on Tuesday by formally launching the website, more than one-and-half years after the Supreme Court of India struck down WB Housing Industry Regulatory Authority (WBHIRA), a Bengal-specific act promulgated by the state.

There was a regulatory void after the SC verdict in May 2021 as HIRA was struck down and RERA yet to be operational.

After waiting for months for the Authority to be set up and the website ready, the developers started launching projects without mandatory RERA registration.

According to the model RERA Act introduced by the centre in 2016 and implemented by various states and union territories, no project above a certain size can be sold without registration with the Authority.

“The real estate community has been looking forward to a fully functional RERA which will spur an all round growth of the sector in the state,” Sidharth Pansari, president of Credai Bengal, said.

Rahul Todi, managing director of Shrachi Realty, hoped the developers would now be able to register their new projects on the website.