The Narendra Modi Government is likely to introduce the revised Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2013 that seeks to pave the way for the construction of a large number of affordable houses.
The Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) Ministry is holding a meeting of all stakeholders in the National Capital on Friday to seek their views before moving it in Parliament.
“We have convened a meeting of all stakeholders to seek their views and suggestions on the Bill,” a senior official of the Ministry said. HUPA Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday discussed various aspects of the Bill with his officials. The Narendra Modi Government has promised houses for all by 2022.
Naidu emphasised that the Bill, while seeking to promote housing activities, should aim at harmonising the concerns of consumers and real estate developers, rather than introducing strangulation in the name of regulation. The Minister said the Bill should promote transparency in disclosures by developers with regard to all relevant information about real estate projects by registering them with the proposed regulator.
Besides Naidu and Ministry officials, representatives of the Ministries of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, Consumer Affairs, Civil Aviation and Culture would attend the meeting.
Issues like protection of consumers’ interests and single window system for approval of real estate projects will also come up for discussion.Officials of Consumer Welfare Association, Federation of Apartment Owners Associations, Professional Associations like legal firms and management consultants, National Real Estate Development Council, and Council of Real Estate Developers Associations of India will also attend.
After this exercise, Naidu will hold a meeting with Ministers concerned before firming up the official amendments to be moved, if required.The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, was introduced by the UPA Government in the Rajya Sabha in August 2013 and provided for institution of a uniform regulatory environment. But it had lapsed.
The need of the Bill has been felt for long to regulate the real sector which is one of the largest business and employment generators in the Indian economy.According to the Government data, the housing shortage in India is to be around 18.78 million out of which 56 per cent is in the economically weaker category and 39 per cent is in the lower income group category.