by NR INDRAN / INT

Hailing the Union Government’s decision to allow  FDI in organized retail sector as the right move, the developer community has called for accelerating the economic reforms process by covering the realty sector, too.“India is the world’s second largest retail market and the re-launch of the reforms process with the FDI in the sector will definitely help revive the sluggish economy and generate employment,” said Mr. Paras  Gundecha, President of MCHI-CREDAI.

As it is, the retail sector has established itself as the sunrise industry and with the FDI it will get a tremendous boost as it will lead to establishment of new chains providing newer outlets for farmers, traders and the industry as a whole, Mr Gundecha pointed out“  We appeal to all sections to support this policy decision and help revive the economy without any more loss of time,” he said.

At the same time, Mr Gundecha said, the government should adopt a balanced approach on this and protect the interests of small retailers who are all self-employed people while allowing FDI in multi-brand retail.  “We must ensure an overall development and progress and not just a particular section,” he said.

Mr Gundecha also welcomed the encouragement of FDI intologistics and storage chains in rural areas tocut down wastage of farm produce. This will lead to creation of new job opportunities around the farm sector, changing the rural landscape.

Stating that rapid urbanization is the reality of the day, Mr Gundecha said the real estate industry looks forward to tapping the vast opportunities in housing, retail and office segments.

“This is where the realty reforms come into picture as the retail chains will need huge complexes. For long, the growth of real estate industry has been thwarted by limitations of land availability, delays in approvals, expensive and almost prohibitive funding and ever increasing rise in costs inputs like cement, steel, sand and even  labour,” he explained.

Mr Gundecha appealed to the government to take a serious look at the realty industry and extend the process of reforms to it by ensuring easily accessible funding, speed up approvals by setting up a single window system and accord the industry the status of infrastructure.

The capital and labour intensive construction industry contributes over 11% to the GDP, apart creating massive employment which in turn leads to rise in purchasing power. This in turn will have a cascading effect on the retail chains as well making the reform process truly meaningful, he said.

Mr Gundecha  offered to open the process of dialogue with the government and its various agencies to work on realty reforms. “We are always willing to play a meaningful role in the nation’s economic development and work closely with the government for realizing the dreams of housing for all,” Mr Gundecha added.

Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), formed in 1982, is the most prominent and the only recognized body of Real Estate Developers in Mumbai and MMR.

MCHI brings together members dealing in Real Estate Development on onecommon platform to address various issues facing the Industry.

Members of MCHI account for 80% of Development of New Residential Accommodation and Commercial Properties in Mumbai and MMR MCHI helps both the Central and State Governments in meeting their objectives of providing housing,which is a basic  necessity. MCHI has a strong Membership of over 1000 leading Developers in Mumbai and has expanded across MMR, having its own units in Thane, Kalyan -Dombivali, Mira – VirarCity, Raigad and Navi Mumbai. MCHI works towards raising awareness among the General Public, Real Estate and Construction Industry while providing them with detailed information on projects and new Developments in and around Mumbai and MMR.

MCHI is a Member of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) the apex body for Private Real Estate Developers in India and is also affiliated with leading Industry Associations like CII,FICCI, IMC etc.

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