Government should bring in single window approval system for project development and real estate regulatory law for better governance of the property sector, realtors' body NAREDCO today said while regretting Unitech's top executives going to jail for a day.
Stating that real estate developers are not criminals but partners in nation building, National Real Estate Development Council (NARDECO) said the government should strengthen the governance of the housing sector so that developers strive for quality construction and timely delivery.
On Monday, a Delhi court had sent Unitech's Chairman, its two Managing Directors and a director to 14-day judicial custody in alleged cheating cases filed by two investors.
Unitech's top executives were granted three days' interim bail on the same day, but they had to spend a night at Tihar Jail here after failing to get the release warrant on time from the court.
"Some breathing space must be given to developers who are not able to give timely delivery of flats or office space due to unforeseen reasons...," NAREDCO President Parveen Jain said in a statement.
He mentioned several reasons for the delays in execution of projects, such as labour problems, irregularities in supply of raw materials and certain guidelines from government.
Jain said an "embarrassing situation like this" could have been avoided if the government would have implemented the single window clearance mechanism with strict timelines as suggested by the association.
The industry have been seeking single window clearance system for project approvals as it takes more than a year to obtain approvals from different government authorities.
"To curb irregularities, delayed delivery of flats and office space, the Central Government has proposed the real estate regulatory Bill which is pending in Parliament. The passage of Bill needs to be hastened so that a governance system is in place which will help developers to manage their plan of action," Jain said.
The NAREDCO President said that the sentiments related to buying real estate was very poor and developers are facing the liquidity crunch.
"Real Estate developers are not criminals, rather they are partners in nation building. Court proceedings are a strong message and some reasonable time to adhere must be awarded before penalising," he said.
While raising funds through banks continues to be a
challenge for developers, Dena Bank Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Kumar said for banks debt raised by realty players becoming NPAs is not an issue today as they (banks) are doing due diligence and financing projects of only good developers.
Talking about REITs and InvITs, BSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan said, "real estate has been an enigma and not standardised. REITs and InvITs are important for us and when it is traded on the exchange it will make investors more comfortable."
Explaining the importance of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Piramal Fund Management Managing Director Khushru Jijina said, "REITs is a game changer for the industry. RERA is accelerating the process of natural death of bad developers and will eventually bring consolidation into the market, which is good for the long term."
Maharashtra's housing department Principal Secretary Shreekant Singh said RERA will provide transparency to all stakeholders.
"RERA is not one sided, but the Act has taken care of the interest of both the consumers and developers. Real estate has the largest share in the GDP. We assure that RERA will cover concerns and issues of all stakeholders leading to transparency in realty," he added.
