GST to bring down property prices
Union Minister for Housing, Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would bring down the cost of land and the property prices which would help millions in realising the dream of owning a house. He said the builders should deliver what they promised at the time of marketing their inventory lest they should attract penal action under the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA). “The Central government is going to strictly implement the RERA. The builders can no longer take the buyers for a ride.” Speaking from Delhi through video-link after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu remotely laid foundation for the construction of 1,93,000 pre-fabricated houses in 38 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)-NTR Nagar’ scheme in the city, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said the slew of tax incentives announced in the Budget, allowance of foreign direct investment through the automatic route and conferring of infrastructure status on affordable housing gave a fillip to the real estate sector. He said 20,25,573 houses had been sanctioned in 4,720 cities and towns after the BJP came to power and emphasis was laid on laying roads, constructing drains, supplying potable water, sanitation and transportation. A large number of houses built under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and other schemes remained unoccupied because of the absence of proper infrastructure and the poor quality of construction. Besides, these housing complexes were built in low-lying areas. In tune with its commitment to meet the basic needs of the urban poor, he said his government had taken up construction of affordable houses in partnership with the Central government.Thanking the Centre for sanctioning the single largest number of prefab houses in the State, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said houses they were to be constructed at a cost of nearly Rs. 4,000 crore during the Congress regime but much of that money had been misused. A total of 10.30 lakh houses were being built with an outlay of Rs. 35,000 crore. Mr. Naidu requested Mr. Venkaiah Naidu to sanction another two lakh houses under the PMAY-NTR Nagar scheme, to which the Union Minister replied that he would concede the request based on the progress achieved under the just-launched Phase-I.
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