MahaRera has levied a cumulative fine of Rs 0.2 million on six developers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for failing to include QR codes of project registration in their advertisements. Out of a total of 107 cases, show-cause notices were issued to 74 developers who did not print or display QR codes in their ads. MahaRera has heard 25 of these cases related to MMR projects and imposed fines in six instances. For promoters who claimed their ads were issued without their knowledge, MahaRera has advised them to file cases with the cybercrime cell. The regulatory body is still in the process of hearing and determining penalties for the remaining cases and plans to send show-cause notices to the remaining 33 developers. MahaRera had mandated the inclusion of QR codes in all housing project advertisements from August 1. MahaRera has been monitoring advertisements in newspapers and on online and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. They observed that a significant number of advertisements on online and social media platforms lack QR codes. Some promoters have claimed that the advertisements were not authorised by them or were issued without their knowledge, prompting MahaRera to direct them to involve the cyber crime cell. Advocate Avinash Pawar commended the move to penalise developers for non-compliance with QR code display rules but urged MahaRera to ensure the enforcement of earlier orders and fill vacancies within the regulatory body. MahaRera has also urged homebuyers to exercise caution when viewing advertisements on social media to avoid potential scams. In addition to QR codes, homebuyers can verify project details by entering the registration number on the MahaRera website, where comprehensive project information is available. Earlier this year, MahaRera imposed a collective fine of Rs 1.8 million on 90 developers for advertising projects without MahaRera registration numbers.