Developers in Uttar Pradesh will soon have to get their project progress digitally certified by an architect, engineer and chartered accountant before filing their quarterly reports with the state’s real estate regulator.
As per a TOI report, the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP RERA) said on Tuesday that promoters will have to submit digitally signed certificates from these three professionals from the July-September quarter onwards.
The move is aimed at making project updates more transparent, accurate and reliable for homebuyers and other stakeholders.
Under the new system, architects, engineers and chartered accountants will have to submit their certificates directly through the UP RERA portal using their digital signatures.
Developers will then use this digitally certified information to prepare and submit their quarterly progress reports, or QPRs.
Currently, promoters report the physical and financial progress of their projects every quarter and upload scanned copies of the relevant certificates, along with photographs and videos.
The new system removes this extra layer by requiring the professionals themselves to upload and digitally sign their certificates.
The biggest change is that developers will no longer be able to file their QPRs until the required professionals have submitted their digitally signed certificates.
In other words, the process will work in this order: First, the architect, engineer and CA certify the project’s progress. Their digitally signed certificates are then submitted through the UP RERA portal, after which the developer can file the QPR.
This means developers will need to coordinate with all three professionals before meeting their quarterly reporting requirements.
For homebuyers, the key benefit is expected to be more reliable and up-to-date information about project progress.
Since the certificates will be digitally submitted by the professionals responsible for certifying the project, UP RERA expects the information available on its portal to be more accurate and transparent.
The regulator said the digitally certified data will also help track project progress and set quarterly targets under its upcoming RERA 2.0 system.
The new certification process is part of UP RERA’s transition to its new RERA 2.0 web portal, which is currently in the final stages of development.
The digitally certified project data will be used on the new portal to establish quarterly targets and monitor the progress of registered projects.
However, developers will not have to wait for RERA 2.0 to launch.
Until the new portal is operational, promoters will continue filing their QPRs through the existing UP RERA portal. The regulator said using digitally certified data during this transition will help prevent any information gap.
UP RERA is setting up help desks at its headquarters in Lucknow and its regional office in Greater Noida to help developers and professionals adapt to the new process.
The help desks will assist with submitting digital certificates and updating project-related data.
The regulator will also issue a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) explaining how the new certification and reporting process will work.
UP RERA chairman Sanjay R Bhoosreddy said the move is intended to make project-related information more transparent, accurate and up to date.
He said requiring architects, engineers and chartered accountants to submit certificates using digital signatures would provide professionally certified and reliable information on the progress of each project.
According to Bhoosreddy, the move is also an important step towards the RERA 2.0 web portal and is intended to ensure a smooth transition.
