Pune: District collector Jitendra Dudi has directed the revenue machinery to execute all pending MahaRERA recovery warrants by April-end, stressing that homebuyers must receive their “hard-earned money” without further delay.The directive follows a review meeting on Friday with tehsildars from all talukas. According to data from the Pune district administration, 186 recovery warrant orders involving Rs146.5 crore remained pending as of Jan 2026.These figures are part of a broader pool of 304 warrants totaling Rs248.77 crore. While the administration successfully executed 118 cases worth Rs102.17 crore between April 2025 and Jan 2026, a significant backlog persists. The highest pendency is reported in Haveli, Pune city, and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) areas.The recovery landscape has shifted over the past year. In March 2025, the district had 246 pending cases worth Rs195.49 crore. Since then, 59 new cases involving Rs53.28 crore were added, taking the total workload to 304 cases. Significant amounts also remain stuck in Khed, Maval, Lonikand, and Uruli Kanchan talukas.Speaking after the meeting, Dudi said he had conducted a taluka-wise review to identify bottlenecks. “It is high time homebuyers get back their hard-earned investments,” Dudi said. “I have directed tehsildars to ensure every warrant is executed by the April-end deadline.”To meet this target, officials have been instructed to take coercive measures against defaulting developers, including attachment and public auction of their properties. “The goal is to ensure the orders are cleared, and the money is returned to the rightful owners,” Dudi added. He also announced that the district’s recovery data would be uploaded to the official collectorate website for public transparency.The execution of MahaRERA warrants has recently faced criticism for being slow. While MahaRERA issues the warrants — calculating refunds and interest for delayed or stalled projects — the legal power to enforce these orders lies with the district revenue administration under land revenue laws.Last year, MahaRERA chairman Manoj Saunik urged collectors to prioritize high-value projects to recover at least 50% of pending dues. While the authority has appointed a retired senior revenue official to coordinate with districts, experts argue more is needed.“Merely appointing retired bureaucrats is not enough,” an expert noted. “To ensure speedy execution, these officials should be granted statutory powers via a gazette notification, enabling them to legally requisition police assistance to enforce orders on the ground.”
