Mumbai, Nov. 23 -- The Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) has imposed a Rs.1 lakh penalty on 29 colleges across the state for failing to display their approved fee details on their official websites. Under the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act, 2015, every college must publish its approved fee structure online to transparently provide students with information during admissions. Earlier this month, the FRA had issued notices to 445 institutions for not displaying fees and other required details on their websites. According to the FRA, the authority examined the websites of 623 colleges and found that 445 of them had not uploaded the approved fee structure for the academic year 2025-26. In addition, 75 colleges had displayed the FRA-approved fees but also displayed extra charges which are not permitted. Responding to the FRA's notices, most colleges submitted satisfactory explanations and updated their websites as required. However, 29 institutions failed to comply with the FRA's regulations even after several reminders, and they are now facing a Rs.1 lakh fine to be paid within two weeks. A member of the FRA, Dharmendra Mishra, said the penalty was necessary to ensure transparency and accountability. "Some people misuse the lack of information and misguide students about the actual fees. This harms students. The fine is meant to make institutions more responsible," he said. The FRA will also issue fresh notices to the 75 institutions that had displayed additional charges beyond the approved fee structure. Officials said the FRA's drive to monitor all higher education institutions and their websites will continue to ensure that the fee-related rules are strictly followed....