National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco) urged the union government to consider a rental housing policy as well as national and state master plans for the construction and real estate sector. The twin purposes would enable India to smoothly move in the growth trajectory of the construction sector as those who cannot afford to build their own houses can live in such units for good.
The Naredco also toyed with the idea of coming out of the all India master plan as well as the all India state master plan so that planned metro cities come out throughout the country in the name of greenfield cities.
Hari Babu, President Naredco during the 16th Naredco National Convention explained that India critically needs the all India master plans and All India state master plans to develop greenfield cities by the time it grows into a USD 30 economy by 2047 and even earlier as that would be the primary requirement of Indian real estate and construction industry for the growth of the country.
“Presently, on account of legitimate and useful Urban Planning, India has moved a little in terms of the growth of the cities and this makes it critical for India to have the proposed master plans so that proper development is ensured for Urban India as this would be the centre for growth. It may be mentioned here that with each passing day urban India is constricted with the influx of migration from rural India and it becomes all the more important that such master plans are put in place as are required for suitable growth of all Metro’s,” President Naredco.
However, on the rental housing policy, Niranjan Hiranandani, Chairman Naredco held that in a developed country like the USA, the rental housing policy is so successful that 50 per cent of its populace prefers to live in such utilities the occupant survives and if India begins preparation to adopt such a model it would be economic as well as prudent because those that cannot afford their housing units can sustain their livings in rented properties.
Hiranandani added that Naredco has already mooted this idea with the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs some time ago. Both the Chairman and President of Naredco also stressed that in the proposed Rental Housing Policy, those institutions that can contribute to fructify the proposal could include Centre and State Governments and most Financial Institutions including RBI.
However, Naredco also demanded that the interest rates for the housing and affordable housing projects should come down from the existing 8 to 9 per cent to 6 and 6.5 per cent as would happen a couple of years ago to boost housing activities. The interest rates have shot up due to multiple factors and if the housing sector has to register growth as visualised by the current government reduction in interest rates would be the primary requirement.
