The Government has taken various measures under ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’ for the revival of the construction and realty sector across the country, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

“In view of the situation created by the pandemic COVID-19 reverse migration of labourers, including construction workers, to their native places and break in supply chains of construction material, construction activities of real estate projects across the country were adversely impacted. However, exact details of the quantum of job loss and financial loss in the Real Estate Sector are not maintained centrally by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA),” Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had issued an advisory to all states and Union Territories (UTs) and their Regulatory Authorities for extension of completion date or revised/extended completion date for all real estate projects registered under Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 [RERA] for a period of 6 months, and further extension of 3 months, if the situation so demands,” the Minister said.

Further, MoHUA recommended to the state governments and UT Administrations to consider a reduction in stamp duty rates on transaction of sale/purchase of immovable property for a specific period of time to encourage the home buyers and sellers to expedite their transactions. Many states/UTs responded positively by reducing the rates of stamp duty on transactions involving the sale/purchase of immovable property, he said.

In order to give relief to homebuyers, developers and other borrowers, the Reserve Bank of India permitted lending institutions to grant a total moratorium of 6 (3+3) months on payments falling due between 1st March, 2020 to 31st August, 2020.
Moreover, an infusion of Rs 75,000 crore for Non-Banking Financial Corporations (NBFCs), Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and Rs 18,000 crore additional outlay for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban have also helped in the revival of construction and realty sector, the Minister said.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) was enacted in March, 2016 to ensure regulation & promotion of the Real Estate Sector in an efficient and transparent manner and to protect the interest of homebuyers.

“Under the provisions of the RERA, as on 2nd April, 2022, 31 states/UTs have established Real Estate Regulatory Authorities, 28 States/UTs have established Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, 78,225 real estate projects and 61,551 Real Estate Agents have been registered under RERA and 87,633 Complaints have been disposed-off by the Real Estate Regulatory Authorities across the country,” the Minister said.