Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla calls for strengthening real estate sector to spur economic growth

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday asked real estate developers to deliver apartments to homebuyers on time without compromising on the quality, while stressing on the need to strengthen the sector for faster economic growth and employment generation. Addressing a real estate conference organised by realtors’ body NAREDCO, he said the real estate industry needs to improve its image. Birla said the government’s target to provide ‘Housing for All’ by 2022 will not be achieved without active participation from private developers. “We need to strengthen the real estate sector, if the country has to achieve faster economic growth. If we want to tackle unemployment in the country, then real estate is the biggest industry to provide employment opportunities,” Birla said. Real estate and construction sector is the one sector which can provide jobs to skilled and unskilled people moving to urban areas for earning livelihood, he said. [caption id=“attachment_6848601” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Image courtesy: Twitter/@ombirlakota[/caption] “Real estate is the industry where maximum employment can be generated as 200 other industries are linked to it such as cement, steel, plumbing and electric etc,” Birla said. He emphasised that there should be a discussion in Parliament to discuss how to strengthen this sector. However, Birla pointed out that there is a wrong perception about the sector because of certain bad elements and the industry should work towards improving this image. “You (private developers) should not compromise on the quality. Home should be delivered on time as per the commitment and agreed price,” Birla said, adding that the association should stand with customers in case of grievances with its member-developers. Unless private developers make available good quality homes at cheaper rates, the government would not be able to achieve the Housing for All target by 2022, he said. Birla favoured a law for rental housing to boost supply for such flats and assured all help to the industry. He said if the government brings any law for this sector, he would ensure that it gets passed with the support of all parties in the country’s interest. Birla noted that sometimes Opposition parties oppose even a good law because of compulsions. “India is the biggest democracy. There must be a strong opposition if we have to keep democracy thriving”. He said laws should not be one-sided and must protect private developers. Speaking at the event, Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy asked the industry to give positive suggestions to the government for higher growth in the sector and achieve Housing For All target. He said real estate law RERA would bring much-needed transparency in the real estate sector. The minister talked about rapid urbanisation and the need for housing. NAREDCO Chairman Rajeev Talwar highlighted that the government has taken various steps to revive the sector and hoped for more such measures. Association’s President Niranjan Hiranandani termed liquidity the biggest problem and said there is a need to take corrective steps to improve the situation. He said the industry bodies met the finance minister on August 11 with their demands, and hoped that measures will be taken in next 2-3 weeks to address the financial crisis.