With reference to the editorial, "A good omen" (March 16), the Real Estate Bill, which was passed in the Upper House of Parliament last week, will be remembered as one of the best achievements of the National Democratic Alliance government. It was rare a sight to see the Treasury and Opposition benches working together to pass this Bill. Had the Opposition been more pragmatic and reasonable, many more Bills like this one could have been cleared, as the editorial rightly says.
The real estate sector is infamous for its lack of transparency. On the question of black money, a regulator was a dire need. A Bill that ensures poor buyers get some reprieve and their hard-earned money does not go down the drain due to the unfair practices of developers is most welcome.
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If the Real Estate Bill is implemented in earnest, it has the potential to transform the sector. The best feature of the Bill is that same rate of interest applies for both developers and buyers in case of delays. This will provide much-needed balance to the buyer-seller agreement. The other laudable feature is the mandatory disclosure of promoters, project, various clearances and land status.
However, a few questions remain answered. For example, if buyers pay only for carpet area, who pays for the super built-up area? Who monitors the escrow account dedicated to a specific project?
If the real estate sector is revived it will also boost other sectors such as cement, steel and sanitary hardware.
Bal Govind, Noida
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