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Real estate bill passed, govt says will bring property prices down
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SME Times News Bureau | 16 Mar, 2016
The real estate bill pending
before parliament since 2013 was finally passed on Tuesday with the Lok
Sabha giving its nod as members cutting across party lines backed it.
Terming the development "historic", Urban Development Minister M.
Venkaiah Naidu asserted the new law will help bring down property
prices.
Members rising above party lines including from the
Congress, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Revolutionary Socialist Party
(RSP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Indian Union Muslim League
supported the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Bill, which had
been passed by the Rajya Sabha on March 10.
Replying to the
debate on the bill in the lower house, Naidu assured that the government
is also open to discuss with the builders if they have any issue with
the bill.
"We are not against builders. If there are problem with
the builders, I am ready to discuss it with them anytime," he said,
adding the speedy land clearances for the real estate projects will help
in bringing down prices of the houses.
"I say you will get more investment, you will get early clearances and the property prices will come down."
Naidu
said the bill was brought in the house after consultation with several
stake holders including the ministries of defence, civil aviation,
environment and consumer affairs.
Expressing satisfaction after
members expressed their support to the bill, he said: "It is a historic
moment for the country as we are fulfilling the aspirations of the
people who wish to own a house, giving them the needed protection. The
bill will be giving credibility to real estate sector also."
During
the debate, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Malikarjun Kharge extended his
party's support, saying: "We want to pass the bill."
RSP member N.K. Premchandran and RJD's Jaiprakash Narain Yadav also supported it.
BJD's Kalikesh Singh Deo complimented the government for bringing the bill.
"There
was an absolute screaming need for regulation to be brought in. Under
the previous avatar, many laws and many authorities regulated different
aspects of the real estate business environment. The excesses caused by
the imbalance of power during negotiations between consumers and sellers
were indeed extreme," he said.
IUML's E.T Mohammad Basheer also
called it "a very good piece of legislation" but wondered whether there
will be clash with the central law as various states also have
legislation in this regard.
In his reply, Naidu stressed that the builders should fulfill the promises they make to the flat buyers.
"The
builders will have to do their duty. Parliament is not interested in
interfering with their activity. What you (builders) are committing,
what you are promising, fulfill that. This is the only purpose of this
real estate bill,” he said.
The minister also said that he will
write to all the chief ministers requesting them to give speedy
clearances to the real estate projects in their states.
A major
benefit for consumers proposed in the bill is that builders will have to
quote prices based on carpet area and not super built-up area, while
carpet area has been clearly defined in the bill to include usable
spaces like kitchen and toilets.
The bill makes it mandatory for
all commercial and residential real estate projects where the land is
over 500 square metres, or eight apartments, to register with the
regulator for launching a project.
For failure to register, it proposes a penalty of up to 10 percent of the project cost or three years' imprisonment.
Naidu said the main purpose of the bill is to protect consumers' interest.
"Sometimes
we are called pro-business, I do not mind being called that. After all
business and industry (people) are also Indians," he said, adding the
interests of farmers and consumers will be protected.
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