Skill
Upgradation Key for Housing for All Success: Housing Ministry
~~Centre
keen on decentralization of power to state govt. for effective execution~~
~~RICS to
work with the govt. for training and skill development~~
August 20, 2015 New
Delhi: In a move that could further pave the way for
smooth implementation of NDA government’s most ambitious ‘Housing For All’
scheme, the Centre has proposed to decentralize the programme by empowering
every state government in the planning and decision making process.
“Empowering states is the key to the
success of Housing For All”, said Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary,
Ministry for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation at Real Estate Conference
titled ‘Stepping Up The Game’ organized by Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors (RICS), leading global body for setting standards in real estate on
Thursday.
Among other measures, the government is also set to
introduce global standards for building and construction process and facilitate
easier documentation and approval procedures for projects falling under
‘Housing For All.”
“There is huge mismatch of housing demand and supply in
India. At this point, India is looking at building homes under affordable
housing to cater to this demand. We believe the government along with the
private sector should follow international best practices for construction of
these houses under the scheme to maintain good construction quality and ensure timely
completion of such projects. The government's move to increase availably of
homes at affordable price points will save our cities from harboring
slums,” Mr. Sachin Sandhir, Global MD, Emerging Business, RICS said.
The Housing Ministry is likely to hold a meeting with
the Environment Ministry next week to discuss ways to expedite clearances to
housing projects falling under this scheme.
“Skill upgradation will play a key role and government
along with private sector will work to train and upgrade skills in real estate
and construction sector,” Mr. Mishra added.
The Union
cabinet has set aside Rs 48,000 crore for developing 100 smart cities across 21
districts over the next five years. As part of this initiative, the cabinet has
also set aside Rs 50,000 crore for rejuvenation of 500 cities under the Atal
Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
The government has also initiated preliminary talks
with the Indian Banking Association (IBA) for setting new guidelines for the
projects, upon meeting, which the loan disbursals would come through easily.
“Providing low cost financing and fast disbursals of
fund for completion of the scheme will play one of the key roles in timely
execution of the project. Also easier access to External Commercial Borrowings
(ECB) will also open up a window of cheaper credit. Moreover, use
of qualified professionals could be made one of the criteria for rating
agencies in rating projects which may lead to cheaper debt,” Ms. Devina Ghildial,
Managing Director, RICS, South Asia said.
About RICS:
RICS
promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in
the development and management of land, real estate, construction and
infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards –
bringing confidence to the markets we serve. We accredit 118,000 professionals
and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality
assurance. With offices covering the major political and financial centres of
the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy
and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level,
delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant
marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the
benefit of all.
