MUMBAI, Jan. 1 -- The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has directed Sheth Developers to pay interest to 15 homebuyers for delaying its Malad East housing project, Sheth Blue Ivy, by over 15 years. The authority also ordered the developer to execute and register agreements pending since 2010 for selling the flats. The 15 homebuyers had booked flats in the project between 2010 and 2012. Despite repeated deadline extensions, they did not receive possession of their homes. After years of waiting, they approached MahaRERA between 2023 and 2025 seeking relief. The complaints were heard together as all the buyers made similar demands. They asked MahaRERA to direct the Sheth Developers to complete the project, hand over their residences along with parking slots, and compensate them for the delay. The compensation they demanded ranged between Rs.42.8 lakh to Rs.2.28 crore each, and they also asked the developer to bear the increased stamp duty charges, pay them an interest and get the agreement for sale executed. In their petition, Girish Kediya and Harshad Bhadbhade, lawyers of the homebuyers said that they were only given allotment letters when the project was initially marketed as Vasant Pearl. Back then, the developer had promised to complete the construction within 36 months and hand over possession within 42 months. Later, the project plans were changed and flat numbers were altered. However, the allotment letters did not mention any possession date. The buyers said they repeatedly sought updates between 2013 and 2023, but received no clear information from the developer. They also said construction remained incomplete for years, forcing many of them to live in rented homes and suffer financial losses due to the prolonged delay. Responding to the buyers, Sheth Developers told MahaRERA that the project was stuck in litigation. It said a Bombay High Court order had stopped construction and registration of sale agreements for six years, and work could resume only in April 2024. Due to uncertainty in the project's timeline, Sheth Developers claimed that they offered refunds to all the buyers, but the complainants chose to remain invested in the project. As per the MahaRERA website, the project's original completion date was June 30, 2022, which was later revised to June 30, 2023. A further extension has now pushed the deadline to November 28, 2027. MahaRERA Chairman Manoj Saunik, on December 11, ordered that the developer will have to pay an interest from July 2022 onwards till the date of possession of the flats to the 15 petitioners, on the amount paid to Sheth Developers and execute as well as register agreement for sale. However, MahaRERA rejected the buyers' demands for compensation for delay and reimbursement of increased stamp duty....