Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has ordered Vinayak Enterprises to pay interest to eight homebuyers over delayed possession of flats in the Eastern River Residency project at Haveli in Pune, rejecting the developer’s argument that government-related approvals caused the delay.
The authority said obtaining the necessary approvals was the developer’s responsibility and that administrative obstacles did not automatically alter the possession deadline agreed in the sale agreements. The order concerns flats in the project’s D Wing and directs developer Kishor Shankar Garve to pay interest from 1 May 2026 until an official offer of possession is made along with the occupation certificate (OC).
Under the agreements, possession of the flats was due by 30 or 31 December 2025. The developer had argued that a dispute involving the Irrigation Department and a stop-work notice had prevented the project from being completed on schedule. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation issued the notice on 3 July 2025 over an issue linked to the Irrigation Department’s blue flood line. The developer said construction could resume only after the state government issued a clarification on 20 January 2026.
MahaRERA had already granted the developer a four-month extension after considering the effect of the construction-related issues. However, the authority found that Vinayak Enterprises had not established that it had made sufficient efforts to secure the required approvals on time or that avoiding the delay had been impossible. The project’s registered completion date was extended to 31 December 2026, but MahaRERA said that extension did not remove the developer’s responsibility for breaching the possession deadline in the individual agreements.
The interest will be calculated on the amounts actually paid towards the flat price, at a rate two percentage points above the applicable State Bank of India marginal cost of funds-based lending rate. Stamp duty, registration charges and government taxes will not be included in the calculation. The eight complainants are Atish Ambadas Bargaje, Tulshiram Kaluram Date, Jitendra Sandeep Joshi, Bhushan Kishor Harane, Tejashree Tanaji Bagwe, Sonali Jadhav, Vinayak Kashinath Sakhare and Nikhil Arvind Chorghe.
The homebuyers had also raised issues concerning lifts, parking, alleged changes to the sanctioned plan and a lack of clarity over payment demands. They said they were carrying the combined burden of home-loan instalments and rent because possession had not been provided. The report also stated that the developer had sought up to 95% of the flat price despite construction remaining incomplete.
MahaRERA clarified that handing over keys or offering “soft possession” does not constitute legal possession without an occupation certificate. Since the homebuyers chose to seek possession rather than cancel their purchases, their additional compensation claim was rejected, while the interest claim was retained. Any outstanding amount payable by the buyers may be adjusted against the interest. If the interest exceeds the outstanding amount, the developer cannot raise a fresh demand for that balance.
The authority partially allowed all eight complaints and directed the developer to comply with the sanctioned plan and the terms of the sale agreements. Civic Mirror reported that attempts to obtain the builder’s response were unsuccessful.
