Mumbai: Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad said he will focus on the revival of the ailing realty sector which is passing through a financial crisis. “Realty sector plays a crucial role in the state economy. If the sector flourishes, there will be more jobs.
If the sector continues to reel under the crisis, there will be fewer jobs. So I as the minister will make all efforts to boost the realty sector,” Awhad told FPJ.
Awhad announced that the ministry will frame in the next three months the common rules to give a much-needed boost for slum rehabilitation and redevelopment in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The construction of 300 sq ft of homes in Thane will be another priority and all the necessary decisions will be cleared in next three months. “These initiatives aim to revive the housing industry which is the main sector especially in urban areas which provide jobs,” he noted.
As far as the long-pending redevelopment of BDD chawls, Awhad has set a three-month deadline to take off all the projects. Awhad made a strong case of creating a conducive environment for the realty sector to flourish and grow.
This will create a win-win situation for the poor who get houses at a rate which are affordable to them. “The ministry will concentrate on the promotion of affordable housing,” he noted.
However, the minister said the investors should not do the business by incurring losses but they should earn a certain profit which will help them build affordable homes.
Awhad informed that red-tapism will be controlled and procedural delays will be avoided. “If redtapism is cut and administrative and procedural delays are reduced drastically, it will help cut in cost of houses. The time bound clearance will avoid time and cost overruns of the realty players,” he noted.
Minister’s slew of announcements are crucial when multiple developers fell off the grid while others still struggle to stay viable. Residential continued to struggle under the fund crunch and slow annual sales growth.
As per ANAROCK research, the housing sales value of India’s top 9 listed players touched Rs108 billion in the second and third quarters of 2019, amounting to a 5% growth QoQ. However, some other big names were dragged into insolvency.
Housing sales in 2019 saw a modest 4-5% annual growth with over 2.58 lakh homes sold during the year. New housing launches in 2019 saw 18-20% annual growth with new launches in the region of over 2.3 lakh units.
