The government is set to announce a package of policy measures to further liberalise the real estate and housing sector.
The policy announcements, which are expected to be announced within a fortnight from now, would include introduction of a new law to regulate the private builders, amendments to the existing building bye-laws and amendment of the Apartment Ownership Act.
Besides, a new law allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the housing sector would also be announced with the second week of next month.
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The proposed bill to regulate the private builders, to be named Private Developers Act, would be introduced by the urban development ministry within 2 weeks from now.
The law, which would require a prior parliamentary clearnce before its becomes an Act, would outline the guidelines to be followed by private real estate developers.
The proposed Act would state that any case of violation of the stated guidelines would be liable for criminal prosecution, revealed a government official.
The Act would primarily outline the amount of money to be paid by consumers to the builder, the time schedule within which the builder should hand over a house to the consumer besides the basic amenities which have to provided by the builders.
Besides, the urban development ministry would also announce a new policy which would allow chartered architects to sanction building laws whereby builders would not have to approach any other government authority for sanctions.
This is to cut down on red-tapism beside simplifiy the procedural hazards faced by private builders, pointed out a government official.
The ministry is also working on a draft to amend the existing building bye-laws in order to make them "simple and straightforward".
The bye-laws would be simplified so that government sanction would be required only on the proposed floor area ratio (FAR) and then it would be the builders decision on the number of storeys he builds subject to the height restriction. Since the bye-laws are a state subject, the ministry would be forwarding its proposals to the state governments for their consideration, revealed government sources.
It has been suggested by various consumer forum's that while amending the bye-laws, the government should either not allow the construction of basement or else it should allow it freely subject to maximum coverage restrictions and it should be counted in the FAR (floor area ratio). However, the ministry is yet to take a final decision on the issue.
The ministry is also set to amend the Apartment Ownership Act which basically deals with the ownership patterns of flats.