Realty News Roundup: Real Estate Bill To Be Tabled In The Monsoon Session; Delhi Govt Allocates Rs 1,793 Cr For Home & Urban Development

Realty News Roundup is PropGuide's selection of top stories from the real estate sector

Top News

Observing that the image of builders is "bad", Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to protect the home buyers and said that a bill in this regard will be pushed during the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament. He said that there is a lack of holistic vision about urban planning and expansion is driven not by the administrators of a city, but by property developers.The Monsoon session is set to be convened from July 21 for three weeks. Read more. You can also read the text of PM's remarks at the launch of AMRUT, Smart Cities Mission and Housing for All (Urban) Mission on the Press Information Bureau's (PIB) official release here.

To boost home building and urban development in the national capital, the Delhi government has announced a budget of Rs 1,793 crore, 32 per cent more than last year. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that the government will also expedite the process of registration of unauthorised colonies and soon come up with guidelines for registration of homes there. Read more.

In yet another India Vs Pakistan stories, the latter has beaten India by rolling out South Asia's first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). According to reports, Pakistan has launched the REIT at a premium of 10% to the offer price. An REIT is a financial instrument where the underlying asset is real estate.

Off the front page

The Hindu Business has published a special report on how corporate tag is boosting buyers' sentiments in realty. Even as cost of funding remains a challenge for most other real estate players, several new entrants are using internal accruals or HNI investments to step up their real estate ambitions, the report says.

Economic Times has reported that the controversial CEO Rahul Yadav has quit his start up company, Housing. The ET report has confirmed his resignation by quoting a portion from Rahul Yadav's mail to the board of directors. "Thanks for the quick resolution. Do let me know wherever you guys need my help. Also, given my zero shareholding and not being CEO, I don't think I need to be on the board as well," Rahul said in his mail. It has come less than two months after he wrote an impulsive letter to investors offering to step down as CEO. Read the report here.

In Maharasthra, the state government has decided to oppose the Centre's plans to regulate the real estate sector. The Centre has decided to introduce a new clause in its proposed Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, awaiting passage in the Rajya Sabha, stating that the Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Act, 2012 will be repealed on implementation of the Central Act. As per media reports, the state feels the Centre's move is 'unconstitutional' and against the 'basic federal character of the Constitution'. 

In Gujarat, the National Monument Authority (NMA) in Delhi has suggested to the state's urban development officials to prepare special building by-laws that will ensure that construction happens in a regulated manner surrounding the protected monuments.  Read more.

In Kolkata, office space demand has hit a high in the city. According to this report, companies have finalized deals for over 6.27 lakh sq ft in the first five months of 2015. Among the firms that have picked up big chunks of office space include Tractor India, British Telecom, Reliance Jio, Siemens VIA Tech, Samsung, NIIT, Bandhan and Canon.

Opinion

Read here what realty experts have to say on the central government's smart city initiative.