June - July 2012 - mchi-credai

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C O N T E N T S
COVER
STORY
Possible return to the
‘License Raj’?
New Act to replace ‘MOFA’
SPECIAL
REPORT
One man takes on the
cement cartel:
Shankarbhai, Trustee BAI
MCHI-CREDAI
NEWS
Convocation of
MCHI-CREDAI
- Rustomjee Academy
USABF at MCHI-CREDAI
Mumbai
Felicitating Shankarbhai
(BAI Trustee)
Seminar on VAT
MCHI-CREDAI
UNIT NEWS
Kalyan-Dombivali Unit
Mira-Virar City Unit
Navi Mumbai Unit
Thane Unit
Raigad Unit
INTERVIEW
Hans Fuchs,
ACC Concrete Ltd.
NEWS YOU
CAN USE
06
08
12
14
17
18
Knight Frank India report
Knight Frank Mumbai report
SEAC – II in Maharashtra
E D I T O R I A L
Positive outlook
amidst challenging times
While one hopes for the best, and works with a positive outlook, as an industry we find
that some positives have started happening post our interaction with the Hon’ble Chief
Minister in May, and I hope the opportunities for more smiles increase.
Something hurts, and let me share it with you. Recently, I have seen instances where we,
the organised developers who work by the guidelines and rule book, seem to be getting
into challenges and tough times more often than the segment who work without any
‘registration’ or ‘official status’. It is almost as if we developers who go by norms of
regulations are being slapped with penalties and all sorts of new regulations. I am not
sure what the message is here – is it that those who share data and work in a transparent
manner face punitive action while those who work outside norms, rules and regulations
are not dealt with? I hope not. I hope that we will not see a situation where you play by the
rules and suffer just because of this.
The Union Government's decision to extend the interest subsidy at the rate of 1 per cent
on housing loans upto Rs.15 lakh where the cost of the house does not exceed Rs.25 lakh
for the year 2012-13 will mean that select projects in peripheral areas will gain. More
important, it creates a positive sentiment among home seekers, which augurs well for
real estate. Some decisions have not been as encouraging – RBI’s status quo in its credit
policy, for one. It seems to overlook the importance of real estate sector in the national
economy and GDP, the capital and labour intensive sector plays a key role in employment
generation and accelerating growth.
As I recall, the encouragement given to real estate in 1998 had kick-started the growth of
cement and steel industries along with over 165 other industries including transport that
with no additional cost incurred by the government. The risks attributed to real estate
and the RBI advisories against lending to real estate have only harmed the sector and
made housing costlier for consumers, apart from badly impacting the economy. The result
has been that the governments – state, central and local bodies - have seen loss in
revenue.
The status quo on interest rates will further dampen the sentiment. On a positive note,
I hope further policies will see rate cuts positively and conservatism does not become
a lasting attitude.
BOMAN IRANI
HON. SECRETARY, MCHI-CREDAI & EDITOR, PROPERTYSCAPE
PROPERTYSCAPE ISSUE • JUNE • JULY 2012
031603
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