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Centre playing a significant role in promoting the real estate sector: CREDAI Bengal

by IBNS 12 Sep 2016, 06:57 am

The West Bengal unit of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) is happy with the growth in Bengal despite slowdowns in other parts of the nation. In a conversation with Debjani Roy, Secretary General of CREDAI Bengal, IBNS correspondent Sudipto Maity finds out the current scenario of the RE sector in Bengal

What can we expect from the upcoming Ranchi exhibitions?

CREDAI Bengal has over the last few years conducted bi annual exhibitions christened Realty Expo & Home Front in Kolkata, thereby providing the intending flat buyers with a the opportunity to chose from a variety of Projects being constructed by our members.  Needless to say that all such exhibitions have not only paved way for our members to display their products but have also encouraged the intending home buyers to directly interact with majority of leading Real Estate Players that too under one single roof.

Keeping the same in mind, this year we are reaching out to various outstation destinations and not only from Ranchi but all those places we expect to reach out to the people showcasing the Real Estate Projects in West Bengal as a possible investment option. We would also like to reach out to the majority of people who are currently in Ranchi but have plans to settle down in West Bengal, giving them an option of having a home outside their current homes.

 

What's the biggest challenge faced by the RE sector today?

The Real Estate Sector is second largest contributor to the GDP. However some of the biggest challenges that the RE Sector faces from the Bengal perspective are as follows: 

Lack of availability of freehold land.

Lack of public infrastructure support

However though the same may not be attributed to a challenge, with the advent of RERA 2016, am confident that the same will definitely have a huge impact on the way the business is carried out today. The Real Estate Sector shall now be further streamlined and shall be more transparent and customer friendly.

 

With reports of several structural collapse across the nation in the past few months, do you think the credibility of RE sector is taking a beating?

I definitely don’t agree to the fact that the credibility of an entire sector is dependant on certain stray incidents. In every industry there are big players and small players. Further from a technical point of view structural collapses can be attributed to a plethora of reasons and it shall be biased to form an opinion on the entire sector due to certain mis doings (if any) by some of the players.

 

Where does Bengal stand in the RE sector as compared to other states? Can you point out the flaws?

Well, it is my pleasure to inform that even though the Real Estate market has witnessed a recent slowdown all across the country, unlike other places, there has not been a complete standstill situation in Bengal. One of the biggest reasons is that the State Government has been very apt to boost the sector and have brought out various new policies and reforms to help the sector.

Before comparing with other States, one needs to understand that the City of Kolkata, is a very old and heterogeneous city. The city has evolved over 300 years and the same has not witnessed planned development unlike other major cities. In this context it would be appropriate to mention that in recent times Bangalore is also facing tremendous infrastructure issues due to the same reason as we in Bengal had faced.

However, West Bengal is also riding the growth and with many new initiatives and reforms already in place the present scenario does indeed look very promising for healthy sustainance of the industry.

 

Being a state unit, how would you rate the incumbent state government in terms of 'ease of doing business'? Where does the Central Government stand in the same aspect?

As I have already mentioned above, the State Government has really been playing an active role in boosting the Sector and making Bengal a brand to reckon with. It is needless to mention that the State Government has streamlined a lot of existing processes, have carried out some very important reforms and is continuously working towards promoting West Bengal as the best investment platform in India today.

The Central Government has definitely played a significant role in promoting the sector and the same is evident from the newly enacted RERA. Further the PMAY and other such schemes also are significant steps by the Central Government to promote Real Estate Sector. Further streamlining of processes also play a role towards providing Ease of Business.

However as Land is a State subject under the Constitution, the sustainability of this sector depends mainly on the prevalent State Laws and Policies, and such it is the State Policies that define the Ease of Business in the real sense.    

 

Ms. Roy, how do you keep yourself motivated?

My passion for work is the most important motivating factor for me. Moreover the kind of respect and acknowledgement that I get from the fraternity and my colleagues also helps me to remain motivated.

 

As the Secretary General of CREDAI Bengal, what are your views on the presence of real estate material supply"syndication" in West Bengal?

I have no views on the same since I do not directly deal with execution of a Real Estate Project .