Self-Reliance Will Generate Employment Opportunities

Sanjay Dutt, MD & CEO, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Limited   “We were hopeful that the FM’s economic package will provide some momentum to the ailing sector to put it back on the path of sustainable growth. We welcome the Government’s decision to treat the COVID-19 period as an event of force majeure to extend the registration and completion date by 6 months for all registered real estate projects. This will certainly alleviate a great amount of stress on the developers and also help homebuyers get their dream homes in the stipulated amount of time. Without such a bold decision, it would be very difficult for the real estate sector to continue growing amidst these adverse situations. Additionally, the granting of three to six months extension to all contractors without extra costs will also help the sector significantly. Due to the lockdown, migrant labourers have been displaced and all construction work came to a grinding halt. We appreciate the Government’s cooperation to help developers and contractors deal with forces that are beyond our control. PM Narendra Modi has rightly called for achieving self-reliance to fight and win the war against this pandemic. We are certain that indigenous sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing of construction equipment on Indian soil will also go a long way in making India’s real estate sector more self-reliant. Apart from this, self-reliance will also help in generation of employment opportunities for the masses which will surely boost the economy. However, we are also hopeful for a temporary reduction or waiver of GST for the sector, additionally providing some income tax benefits for home loans would have supported the demand for housing and helped to achieve the government’s objective of Housing for All.”