Real estate sector needs to get industry status, says Amrapali Group CMD Anil Kumar Sharma

The real estate sector has always been in the news. However, recently the sector made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In the last few months the real estate sector has been linked to one controversy after another and has thus shaken the confidence of investors as well as home buyers.

Today the sector badly needs a regulator. Even as the government is working to bring in a real estate regulator, the sector itself is voluntarily taking initiatives to bring in more transparency to restore the customers faith.

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) - National Capital Region (NCR) has set up its own consumer redressal forum to address the problems faced by customers that do not reach the top bosses of the company as required. Consumers can write directly to the forums which will transfer the complaint directly to the concerned company.

As far as the new land acquisition Bill is concerned, we have always been opposed to certain provisions and clauses that have been included its current form, which we feel are anti-Industry in many ways.

If the land acquisition Bill is implemented in its present form, it is most likely to slow down the process of urbanisation and industrialisation, putting a huge burden on the existing infrastructure in large cities.

Moreover, this would further inflate the cost of homes by 15-20 per cent, making them unaffordable for most buyers.

We are already in talks with the concerned ministry and have got an assurance that the view of corporates will be taken into consideration before the bill is presented in parliament.

Despite the sector being so crucial to the Indian growth story, it has not got its due by from policymakers. Despite being the second largest employer of unskilled labour, the sector never got industry status which makes it difficult for the real estate sector to get finance.

By getting industry status, the sector will get access to easier finance and this would bring down home prices so that come within the reach of the middle class.

People often talk about homes getting unaffordable but there is no policy incentive from the government to support affordable housing.

A major aspect of home prices is driven by cost of land and finance. If the sector is not getting land at a cheaper price, affordable housing would remain a distant dream.

Anil Kumar Sharma
Chairman & MD, Amrapali Group

(As told to Business Today)