Impact of Reforms

To bring the government perspective in the discussion, the moderator of the session Neeraj Bansal,Partner, Head ASEAN Corridor & BCRE -KPMG India began the session by asking Prof PSN Rao, Chairman - Delhi Urban Art Commission his views on the latest policy developments. According to Prof. Rao, while, relaxations on FDI & REITs will encourage funding in real-estate, this year will also see the unfolding of effects of RERA as most states will start implementing the Act. He added, “Most of the primary market is already cashless and demonetization has ensured that secondary market too will become transparent. In terms of government systems, already sanction and approval processes are getting streamlined.”   Yash Gupta, Managing Director & Country Head – Hines India commented that in the last few years though the real-estate customer had started maturing, the property market was still antiquated. “Till now the question was how we create a corporate developer. Now we have seen a shift in government attitude and the focus on customer demand of transparent dealings. The lesser regulations on FDI, increasing of FSI in most land parcels across cities, RERA and other reforms are as per what customer had been asking for. There will be an adjustment period but in long term the industry will benefit.” Concurring to the statement, Vineet Relia, Managing Director – SARE Homes lauded the reform measures for real estate. “Indian developer if constructing in Dubai will deliver the best construction, but has a lax attitude towards regulations for projects for Indian market.  So more than the single window clearance, transparency monetary gains or what these reforms signify is that it’s time to change one’s mind-set,” he said.  

1. Raghavan, CEO – Bhartiya Group stated, “Coming from a corporate field to the real estate, the first thing I felt that given the asset and jobs creation this industry gives it commands much lesser respect. RERA will ensure that either developers fall in line or fade away. This will help the industry to gain more respect which is getting tainted by few bad players.” He added that apart from developers and customers, the third vector which is the government too needs to be addressed especially the time period for clearances, regulations & transparency.  Sudhir Mishra, Founder and Managing Partner - Trust Legal felt, that there were both positive and negative sides to RERA. “The reforms will create accountability, minimize trust deficit and boost investors’ confidence but, at the same time, there is no mechanism to avoid state political interference. Moreover, there is no coordination between government and judicial process.From state to state there are too many variations in implementation.” He suggested that developers should pre-position their projects as per regulations and environmental norms so that they cannot be challenged by authorities or get dragged to the court of law.

  Architect Tanmay Tathagat, Executive Director - Environmental Design Solutions felt at the core of all reforms is good intention but implementation linkages are weak. “Firstly, the process of figuring out how to implement the policies needs to be put in place.Secondly, to create a level playing field for all developers, building codes should become mandatory for all. Best way forward is that developers and design professionals lobby with the municipalities proactively for proper carrying out of policies.”. Summing up the discussion Bansal said, “Given the scale of development in next few years, the sector needs foreign funding which will come if we start putting the compliances and legal parameters in place. The policy reforms augur well for the realty sector but the roadmap for implementation needs more clarity.