Credai calls for Reforms to Facilitate Realty Growth

The realtors' apex body Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (Credai) has called upon the Centre to bring about reforms to revive the crisis-ridden real estate sector in the country and rejuvenate the economy.

Lalit Kumar Jain, Credai Chairman and CMD of Kumar Urban Development, has called for political will to bring about real estate reforms.

"While Credai suggestions for reforms have been accepted, we do not see any action. Smart Cities require Smart Policies," he said.

"The continuous fall in fuel prices is not translating into price reduction of inputs like cement, steel and even transport. The Government needs to regulate steel and cement prices just as the power regulators monitor tariff," he said in a statement outlining Credai's expectations for next year.

"In spite of slowdown in consumption, we saw a huge rise in cement and steel prices. Domestic construction industry has been jostling with steep and steady rise in prices of cement, steel rods, bricks and other input material, which have risen by over 30 per cent in the last three years. The input cost on account of labour in the construction industry has increased. Besides rising prices, high lending rate by banks has hit the realty sector severely," Jain said.

For a long time, RBI has been giving a raw deal to the real estate industry despite the fact that it contributes significantly to the country's GDP, apart from being labour and capital intensive, he said.

He called for Government intervention to facilitate low cost funding for home buyers as well as developers.