The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry has said that it will challenge the State’s move to set up a housing regulator in an “appropriate legal forum”.

The chamber has over 1,000 developer-members and accounts for over Rs 50,000-crore worth of projects in Mumbai and suburbs.

The housing regulatory bill, approved by the Cabinet, was placed before the Assembly last week.

Mr Paras Gundecha, President, MCHI, said the real estate sector was already over-regulated and regretted that the Government chose to go in for further controls.

“Coming as it does at a time when every other sector and industry is being liberalised, this step is retrograde,” he said.

The Union Government and states, besides local bodies, as such, have innumerable laws and controls “crushing” the real estate sector. Any further move to regulate it will only throttle its growth, he said.

Moreover, the Government’s proposed regulator does not cover the permission/approval process. Developers face innumerable difficulties and inordinate delays in getting permissions for their projects. “The delays could go up to 24 months of a project cycle which is frustrating,” he said.

This was happening despite the time-frame for clearing files specified. For instance, an environmental clearance is supposed to be given within 105 days. There is not a single case which has been approved within the stipulated period.

Controls as opposed to free market only result in increase in prices. “We, therefore, firmly believe that a regulatory control will further increase the time for the approval process and act as a major impediment for creating affordable housing in Maharashtra,” he said.

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