BRING IN “REAL-ESTATE” UNDER “INFRASTRUCTURE STATUS” RATHER THAN CONFINING IT TO “AFFORDABLE HOUSING SEGMENT” : PHD CHAMBER

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has proposed to the government to bring in “Real-Estate” under “Infrastructure Status” category rather than confining it to “Affordable Housing Segment” since it handholds about 265 ancillaries and accordingly feed them with its expansion and contraction.

The aforesaid proposal was submitted to Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Mr. M Venkaiah Naidu when the Chamber delegation consisting of its Sr. Vice President and Vice President Mr. Anil Khaitan and Mr. Rajeev Talwar including its Director, Dr. Ranjeet Mehta met him post budget.

Mr. Khaitan and Mr. Talwar appreciated the NDA government initiative for conferment infrastructure status on “Affordable Housing”, urging the Minister to take up this proposal to the finance ministry so that the entire real estate activities also begin to enjoy benefits of infrastructure status to enable it to serve the call of the Prime Minister as per which housing could be a reality for all if not by 2022, certainly beyond it.

The Chamber argued that with the conferment of infrastructure status on real estate, will make dwelling units competitive in cost and effective in the affordable sense and remove the prevailing ambiguities if any in this segment of Indian economy.  This status becomes now imperative since real estate serves and handholds about 265 ancillary industries and with its consistent growth not only economic activities will widen and broad base but also additional employment be created and generated which is the need of hour.

It was also emphasized during the course of Chamber’s parleys with Mr. Naidu that since the Chamber is organizing a Conference on “Real Estate Sector: Post Remonetization and RERA” in the third week of February, the Minister should make for it as remonetization has an immediate effect on real estate sector.

The Conference basic objective is to exchange ideas among all stakeholders that participate in it, majority of which would comprised the senior government functionaries, from both centre and states among others.

The Chamber also praised the NDA government’s another initiative in the budget proposals for next fiscal as per which the real estate developers would get tax relief on unsold stock as liability to pay capital gains will arise only in the year the project is completed.