Track2Realty Exclusive: What is the level of understanding and willingness among the Indian developers to create smart cities in a country which has been branded as a ‘reluctant urbaniser’ by many international experts?
Track2Realty Exclusive: There are some industry watchers who believe the entire genre of awards should not be dismissed just because there are few rotten eggs in the basket. Industry body NAREDCO thinks awards should be seen as recognition for the work done by the developer. “If a real estate company has earned an award, I think it should be respected by the industry and by the collective consciousness,” says Sunil Dahiya, Senior Vice President of NAREDCO.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Some analysts are of the view that in some other sectors people are vocal because they come from very powerful political background and are second generation entrepreneurs. Then, they are active at the federal level without any structural defect where policy at centre might help at some level and hamper at some other state level. Automobile policies, for instance, are framed for across the country.
Track2Realty Exclusive: While the real estate fraternity, legal experts and others had strongly questioned the basis of the CCI order and the enormous penalty of Rs 630-crore levied on the real estate major, the sector itself eventually approached the CCI through its industry associations against the cement cartel. Acting on the sector representatives’ complaints, the CCI imposed a penalty of Rs. 6, 307 crore on 11 cement companies for cartelisation.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Asking for industry status, the sector doesn’t want elements of accountability that comes with the package. Quite opposed to the very idea of regulation, even after self-regulatory attempts didn’t work out, realty doesn’t evoke confidence at the policy level and often ends up being at loggerheads with the government. Track2Realty finds that though policy advocacy is very much desirable in the sector, it is yet so debatable that the stakeholders have failed to evolve a consensus over its issues and agenda.
Track2Realty Exclusive: When the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleged that DLF misused its dominant market position and imposed unfair conditions on home-buyers at two of its many projects, the real estate fraternity, legal experts and others strongly questioned the basis of the CCI order and the enormous penalty of Rs 630 crore levied on the real estate major. However, within a year the real estate sector itself approached the CCI through its associations against the cement cartel, and got them nailed as well. Consumers too are approaching repeatedly the anti-monopoly body. Track2Realty wonders whether the CCI has become the new regulator in the sector by default.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Kruti Jain, Director, Kumar Urban Development, believes any funding available in real estate is gap funding. It is not about only the gap which is there in funding for real estate because what happens for other industries is that they have this reserve capital which is not their land or raw material, but is the actual capital they put in to manufacture xyz product and then they replenish the funds with whatever returns are accrued.
Track2Realty Exclusive: For quite some time the developers in Mumbai were making pitch for the review of FSI in the city which they termed as archaic. Their grouse has not been lacking the merit also.
Track2Realty-Agencies: In a move aimed at providing a major fillip to the construction sector, the Centre is likely to come up with a ‘single window’ system for the country’s real estate sector soon, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty alleviation (HUPA) Ajay Maken said in New Delhi on Sunday, March 24.
Track2Realty-Agencies: Government plans to set up a tough regulator for the real estate sector with provisions for even jail term for the developer for putting out misleading advertisements about projects.
