Consumer-friendly real estate Bill to come up in Parliament

NEW DELHI: The government is all set to introduce a buyer-friendly  real estate legislation which aims to protect consumers and bring transparency in the sector in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.


"We will be introducing the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, which is very relevant to real sector in the Monsoon Session," said Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister  girija vyas here today.

She said the  Bill has been approved by the Cabinet and is proposed to be introduced in Parliament.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on August 5 and the Bill, after its introduction, is likely to be referred to the Standing Committee of Parliament for examination.

Describing the Bill as a pioneering legislation which will install standardisation and professionalism in the sector, Vyas said, "It will ensure consumer protection and promotion of the real estate sector through effective regulation and introduction of speedy mechanism for adjudication of disputes."

The real estate sector is one of the largest business and employment generators in the Indian economy. Despite its mammoth size, the sector does not have a regulator who can balance the interests of the various stakeholders involved though there are a number of legislations at various levels that affect the sector directly or indirectly.

Assuring the industry that all their concerns have been taken into account in the Bill, she said, "Any further suggestions, if any, can also be taken on board at the time of examination by the Standing Committee."

"The government is keen to bring reform to the areas which are crucial for the development of housing and real sector," she said.

According to the HUPA Ministry data, the housing shortage in India is to be around 18.78 million out of which 56 per cent is in the economically weaker category and 39 per cent is in the lower income group category.

Quoting the Mckinsey Global Institute projections, she said, "About 38 million households will not be able to afford housing by 2030. This is quite alarming for us."

Currently, India has 377 million urban population and as per a 2009-10 estimate, about 21 per cent of the urban population is poor.

Underlining the importance of the housing and construction industry which contributes 10 per cent of  GDP to the country's economy, Vyas said the real estate sector continues to struggle with manpower shortage.

"By 2022, real estate alone will need 30 per cent of the human resources which is 24.98 million as projected by the National Skill Development Corporation. So, affordable housing for the ever-increasing human resource, vital for urban growth is of utmost importance," she said.

Seeking more participation of the private sector, the HUPA Minister said, "We constituted a Task Force on affordable housing for developing separate set of guidance for affordable housing in PPP projects which aims at creating an enabling framework for increased private participation in the sector."

On the demand of the industry for having an online single window mechanism, she said it has been recognised by the expert committee set up by the ministry.

The Ministry will soon come up with a set of guidelines incorporating some of the recommendations of the committee.

Source: economic times.