“After The Indian Express ran a series of stories on various issues relating to building rules, including parking space, the Promoters and Builders Association of Pune called me for a meeting to discuss the issues,” said Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Asheesh Sharma. He said the civic administration is trying to ensure that builders take appropriate steps to provide free parking in the light of the High Court judgment. “As a responsible civic body, we want builders to ensure transparency in their projects. And that’s the reason why we will put up all details about builders and their projects on our website where the buyers will come to know whether the plan is sanctioned or not,” Sharma said.

The information will be put on the website, not by the builder, but by the civic administration. This will be done only after the civic building permission department approves a project submitted by the builder. “Once the builder gets the approval, the information will be displayed on the website. The information will be based on what has been approved by us. This way, the citizen will know what exactly is on offer and later can cross-check with what has actually been done by the builder,” said PCMC city engineer Eknath Ugile. Warning stern action against errant builders, Sharma said, “If we come across complaints about builders not adhering to the norms set by us or not living up to what they promised, we will blacklist such builders.”

Ugile said blacklisting means builders will not get any further civic projects and even their ongoing projects will suffer.

Welcoming the step, Sanjeevani Pandey, a civic activist, said many builders confuse consumers with construction jargons and extract more money from them. “Carpet area, built-up area, super built-up area — for an ordinary buyer, all of this becomes difficult to understand. They have little choice but to pay up as they are in a rush to buy a dream house.”

On the amenities front, Pandey pointed out that there was no uniformity on the amount charged by builders. “Different builders demand different amounts for club house, gardens, swimming pools. The amount should be reasonable and proportionate. The civic body should monitor this aspect and publicise it on its website.”

The PCMC chief said suggestions from citizens will be incorporated on its website. “The citizens should themselves cross-check facts before buying the flats. It is a direct deal between the builders and them.”