Assocham faults govt's stand on ULC Act

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) today expressed displeasure over the ambiguity in the Andhra Pradesh government's actions with regard to the proposed scrapping of the Urban Land Ceiling Act and Rent Control Act.

"It was widely reported that the state government decided to scrap the Andhra Pradesh Rent Control Act to comply with the requirements of the World Bank and Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM). But, surprisingly the government took a retrograde step. Instead of scrapping the Act, it increased the exemption limit from Rs 1,000 per month to Rs 3,500 per month, opening floodgates for fresh wave of litigation between landlords and tenants," Assocham director Pradeep Minocha said here in a press release.

Assocham issued the statement in the backdrop of a joint conference on 'Real estate development in Andhra Pradesh "� Issues and opportunities' being organised here on Tuesday.

According to the press release, the captains of real estate industry from all over would be proposing a strategy to the Andhra government for repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling Act and Rent Control Act to make the state attractive and competitive compared with other states in the southern region.

The Assocham spokesman said a commission led by a retired high court chief justice or a retired chief secretary should be set up to address the task of recommending legislative amendments/ repeal of legislative provisions in furtherance of the reform objectives.