IANS
Bhopal : The Madhya Pradesh government should revise its rigid housing by-laws to ensure transparent land use and facilitate growth of good quality real estate, an industry body has said.
A re-look will also simplify the procedures for conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural use, the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) said.
"The rigid land use policies prohibit recycling of land from low productive to high productive and from low density to high density use which results in a large number of houses remaining unoccupied, thus promoting speculative investment in real estate which leads to distorted prices," PHDCCI resident director Rajendra Kothari told IANS.
Besides, it also leads to the absence of quality control and builders operate on a fly-by-night basis, leaving owners in the lurch, he said.
"To avoid this, there is an urgent need for revision of by-laws to streamline the approval process for construction of buildings and development of sites.
"The housing policy, according to the PHDCCI, should address the issue of updated and transparent land records and help in simplifying the present cumbersome transaction processes leading to high transaction costs and underreporting of actual transaction amounts," Kothari said.
Emphasising the role of private investment and expertise to ensure the availability of quality housing to meet the high demand, he said, "There should also be an enabling environment for private participation and the government's role should be restricted to that of a catalyst and facilitator in the housing sector".
"Master Plans and zonal plans in the state too should be finalised in accordance with the housing policy to help developers plan their projects and investments."
The government should introduce the Real Estate Development Act and its policy should forecast the requirement of built-up space for housing, commercial and retail activities, institutions, green areas and community facilities such as clubs, police stations, fire stations, post offices and telephone exchanges. These should be provided free of cost by the developer company.
Besides, development should be environmentally sustainable, Kothari said. There should be concern for environmental conservation and preservation of resources.
Sites for conservation and preservation – including water bodies, rocky outcrops, lands with interesting topography, green covers, fertile agricultural land, heritage buildings and places of cultural importance – should be identified.
Development, according to Kothari, should encourage general tourism, medical tourism and IT hubs, where high quality living conditions are available.