State members of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) on Thursday strongly opposed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, stating that the sector was already governed by too many laws.
Addressing a press conference to discuss the upcoming CREDAI Conclave, to be held in Delhi on December 13 and 14, S Suresh Hari, Secretary, CREDAI-Bangalore, said, “The sector is already governed by 42 legislations, including 25 labour laws. What is the need for one more Act? There are some clauses that we do not agree. For example, the Act will make it mandatory for builders to display the names of buyers on their website. What is the point in making such information public?” Another demand by CREDAI is the recognition of the real estate sector as an industry which would make it easier to obtain funding.
“About 260 million euros have been pumped in during the first half of this year in FDI into the real estate sector, which supports around 250 ancillary industries. We estimate that there will be a demand of 24.3 million housing units by 2015,” Suresh added.
The conclave will seek to address issues related to the Real Estate Bill and other laws.
“We will seek more support from banks who currently treat the sector like untouchables. The industry can contribute much more to the country’s GDP than the current 7 per cent if proper steps are taken,” said R Nagaraj, president, CREDAI Karnataka.