• Market for realty projects is improving in metropolitan cities
• Owning a flat in Hyderabad has become burdensome
• Government should encourage private builders
REG News, Hyderabad: CREDAI national Vice-President Gummi Ramreddy has opined that the Supreme Court verdict on Super Tech case should serve as a lesson to all developers in the country. He remarked that no builder would ever strive to build projects illegally in the light of the SC judgment. Speaking to Real Estate Guru in connection with real estate festival season, he shared his views, on realty sector developments in Telugu states and also in the country.
The SC verdict on Super Tech case is like a slap on the face of builders. None will ever try to build apartments in open spaces. Instead of pulling down the illegal structures, alternative decision should have been taken, he opined. Be it four-storey structures in Cochin or 40-storey Super Tech structure in Noida, what will be the quantity of steel, cement and sand used in their making?
Pulling down these structures would mean how much national wealth would have gone waste? To manufacture tons of cement and steel, huge process involves, which sometimes involves exploiting the Nature. Then, how can we waste the national wealth given to us by Nature? Therefore, instead of pulling the structures down, the authorities would have taken an alternative decision for the benefit of all.
Perhaps… Not the right decision
The government should probe into the role of the officials in Cochin and Noida apartment complexes cases, which forced the involvement of courts. Instead of punishing them lightly, the government should punish them severely. The rules should be tough instead of merely suspending them from service for an year or two and later posting them in an insignificant posting. Stern punishment awarded to officials would ensure them to adhere to rules.
What impact suspension would have on officials who draw salary up to Rs 1 lakh a month and are accustomed to take Rs 1 crore or Rs 2 crore as bribe. The government should take some tough decision to stamp put corruption totally. Then only, significant changes in the system are feasible.
Work from office
In fact, festive atmosphere prevailed in the country as the conditions for development of realty sector in some cities are gradually improving. The Mumbai and Pune markets are on the road to recovery. Sale of houses in some towns of AP has increased. Instead of work from home, some employers have asked employees to work from office. Tata company has issued a statement in this regard. Ramreddy sought the Centre to extend the Construction-Linked Savings Scheme and extension of Section 80 IB.
Not affordable for middle classes
The Hyderabad market has improved but remained inaccessible for middle classes. It was very painful, he said adding that the Government has been fixing the land rates by conducting auction of the lands. As a result, the prices of real estate have grown wings. The middle classes were not able to buy a house. To overcome it, the government should go one step ahead and encourage construction of houses by giving concessions to realtors. The stamp duty and registration should be reduced to 1 per cent for realtors. If possible, the government should allot land at throw away price. If the government fails to take a decision now, Mumbai-like situation is likely to happen here, he cautioned the government.
* In undivided AP, the projects built by government like Rajiv Swagruha were unsuccessful. The flats built under the project remained unsold in even seven years after statehood to Telangana. The government should have entrusted them to private builders or the government should have disposed them of. If private builders are entrusted with the task, will the structure remain incomplete, he questioned. Therefore, the government should take a decision on the issue, he said.
UDS scheme is atrocious: Ramreddy
It is not fair to sell flat under the UDS scheme. Everyone is donning the role of a builder and selling flats. Buyers are apparently not thinking about whether the builders would be able to complete the project? Whether the builder has the capacity to take up the project? What would be the fate of the buyer if he abandons the project in the middle? Everyone is thinking that they would be able to buy flats at half rate. Nobody is worried about completing it on time. How can builders, who have no experience of building one-lakh sft, develop residential flats with plinth area more than two to three million sft? To stop the practice, the government should take tough decisions. He said that he has plans to build 10-storey Ark Samyak, 15-storey Ark Sthira and 9-storey Ark Oak City in Bangaluru. The three projects are in the phase of obtaining necessary permissions. He has plans to develop 11 lakh sft in the three projects. He will start commencing construction of 19 lakh sft in the next six months.
‘Common man should not feel pinched’
He said that he is very much worried over the sale of apartments by some builders under the UDS scheme. He says that he is at a loss of comprehension how can some builders sell flats at half rate given the cost of construction has increased recently. None will face any problem, if the builder executes the project on time. In case the project remains suspended, the buyers will face problems. Therefore, under no circumstances, such builders should not be encouraged. Moreover, the common man should not suffer at the hands of the unscrupulous builders, he said. He wanted the government to deal with UDS scheme with a heavy hand. If the government did not take decision as early as possible, the common man is likely to get cheated.
