January 16, 2026: The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has integrated its digital platform with 481 planning authorities across the state to allow real-time online verification of Commencement Certificates (CCs), a step aimed at strengthening oversight and protecting homebuyers. Maharashtra has 481 planning authorities responsible for issuing construction-related approvals, and the new system is expected to streamline the project registration process while reducing the scope for misuse.
Earlier, online verification of CCs was possible only for projects under the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, which had its own digital approval system. For developments governed by other planning authorities, CCs submitted during MahaRERA registration had to be manually verified through a dedicated email process. This often led to delays in scrutiny and the issuance of registration numbers.
The decision to integrate MahaRERA’s system with all planning authorities follows cases of document fraud that surfaced in November 2022. At that time, MahaRERA revoked registrations of around 64 projects in areas under the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation after the civic body confirmed that the commencement certificates submitted for those projects had not been issued by it. Investigations revealed that forged documents had been used to obtain regulatory approvals.
Following the discovery, MahaRERA barred the concerned developers from advertising or marketing the projects, sealed their bank accounts, and restricted them from accepting bookings or collecting funds from homebuyers. The episode highlighted gaps in the verification mechanism and the need for a unified digital system.
According to a senior MahaRERA official, the integration with all 481 planning authorities has addressed this bottleneck. With approved plans and commencement certificates now available online, verification has become faster and more transparent, reducing turnaround time for project registrations and limiting the possibility of irregularities.
Under Section 4 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, promoters are required to submit authenticated copies of approvals and commencement certificates, along with sanctioned plans, layout details and project specifications, at the time of registration. The new integration is expected to ensure stricter compliance with these requirements across Maharashtra.
