RERA Punjab Secretary Charan Dev Singh Maan has a word of practical advice for the real estate developers in the state to limit the additional burden of heavy penalties being imposed on them by the regulator – set up your own dedicated customer grievance redressal cells and resolve issues at your own end.
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Addressing the inaugural session of the 2nd edition of RealEstate360, organized by CII Chandigarh & the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) at the CII Northern Region headquarters in Chandigarh on Thursday, he said though buyer/investor confidence had generally increased ever since the inception of RERA in Punjab, still all is not well with the real estate sector and there are 1700 complaints pending with the regulator.
Pointing out that nearly 95% of the complaints pertained to delayed possession of flats/apartments, apart from other issues like poor quality of construction, deficiency in services, etc, he called for greater indulgence by the promoters/developers to ensure that the licences, permissions, NOCs, etc are received in time and the deadlines for various compliances are strictly adhered to, instead of depending solely on their teams.
While admitting that the promoters/developers faced various challenges in executing their projects, he informed that due to intervention of RERA Punjab, the state government has issued various notifications to ensure that the licences, permissions and NOCs etc, are issued within 60 days.
Regarding validity of provisional completion certificates also, he said the state government has extended its validity to three years, with a provision to further extend it by another two years.
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Mentioning steps taken to ensure that development of illegal colonies is discouraged he said there are 1578 real estate projects registered with RERA Punjab, out of which 878 (more than 50%) are in Mohali alone. In comparison there are 14,000 unregistered colonies. In this regard, the recent state government order by which registry of a residential unit has been barred without a RERA No. is a positive development, he added.
He informed that in near future RERA Punjab will have a monitoring cell of its own to curb such illegal activities.
In his address via virtual mode, Kalyan Chakrabarti, CEO, Emaar Ltd, also cautioned real estate developers against ignoring the customer because eventually any developer’s long-term survival and growth depends on him.
Stressing that a modern-day customer and other stakeholders are much more aware, vigilant and demanding, he advised developers against cutting corners and to strictly adhere to timelines for various compliances.
Noting that the economy is growing, and so are incomes, fuelled by conducive policies, he nonetheless spelled a few points to look out for, including possible supply side challenges in view of demand increasing at a faster rate and engaging good quality contractors with skilled labour to ensure efficient delivery.
Adding a note of caution, Chakrabarti said good times are not going to last forever, so developers should not get carried away with the current positive scenario and go for overkill without conducting proper risk assessment.
Emphasising the advantages of maintaining longevity of a developer’s core team, he at the same time asserted that non-performance should not be condoned.
Earlier, setting the context for the event, Ashwinder R Singh, Co-Chairman, CII NR Committee on Real Estate, and Vice Chairman & CEO, BCD Group, who also joined via virtual mode, remarked that Indian real estate is entering an exciting new phase of growth, driven by urbanization, infrastructure development, and evolving consumer preferences. The Tri-City and Punjab region, with Chandigarh at its core, is emerging as a dynamic real estate hub, offering immense potential for residential, commercial, and industrial investments.
Describing the current scenario as the “Amrit kaal of real estate”, he informed that for the first time the growth of the luxury segment (above Rs 1 cr/unit) has outpaced the growth in the affordable segment (up to Rs 60 lakh).
Pointing out that 20-25% of the home buyers in Punjab continue to be NRIs, he called for nurturing this segment of buyers even more for further growth.
Though admitting that the real estate scene in Punjab has not grown as fast as in some of the other high-growth states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka, or Delhi NCR, he said the region has immense potential, which will get unlocked once the much-awaited Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor is opened.
The warehousing segment has already shown a remarkable upswing in Punjab, almost doubling between 2022-24, largely fuelled by galloping e-commerce activity.
Attributing the around 10% growth in the real estate sector in the state to three factors -NRIs, first time home buyers and shift in preference from independent homes to apartments especially among the elderly for safer environment – he said a lot of people are also upgrading from 2 BHK to 3BHK residential units especially after the pandemic.
Emphasising that real estate continues to be a great asset to have in the long run, he expressed confidence that it will give good returns in a 4–5-year timeline.
While anchoring the inaugural session, Amarbir Singh, Past Chairman, CII Chandigarh UT & MD, Indian Polymer Industries, reiterated CII Chandigarh’s advocacy of including key areas like Zirakpur, Kharar and Derabassi under a Greater Chandigarh Region, arguing that it has tremendous growth potential.
