Departments stalling growth of industry, says Credai

The Kerala chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai) has accused local bodies and government departments of creating bottlenecks to the growth of the building industry.

Addressing the media here on Monday, office-bearers of the confederation said nearly 60 applications for NOC (No Objection Certificate) filed by builders had been rejected by the Fire and Rescue Services Department on flimsy grounds.

“Despite installing all mandatory fire-fighting facilities, the applications were rejected on the grounds that the department lacks the capacity for fire-fighting in buildings more than 12-m high. This stand contradicts an affidavit filed by the State before the Centre, they said.

“This will affect construction in every sector including housing, IT, hotels and hospitals. If the same standards are applied, the SmartCity project at Kochi will also be held up.”

The Credai functionaries said applications for clearance from local bodies were held up for six to eight months, despite the online facility introduced by the government. Computers in local bodies were deliberately tampered with and damaged by officials to bypass the online facility and demand bribes for manual clearance.

Cost escalation

Hindrances posed by various departments such as the Fire and Rescue Services, Aviation, and Pollution Control Board caused further delay, leading to cost escalation and litigation.

“This is a hard blow for an industry that is already reeling under a slowdown in the market, apart from raw material shortage and the problems of migrant labour,” said S.N. Reghuchandran Nair, national vice president, Credai.

“The government should take immediate steps to facilitate ease of doing business in the State by removing these bottlenecks and ensuring faster approvals for projects.”

Credai called on the government to revoke the 10-fold fee hike for NOC from the Fire Department from Rs.10 to Rs.100 per sq m. “For a building of 1,00,000 sq ft, this translates into an increase from Rs.1,00,000 to Rs.10 lakh,” the office-bearers said.

The builders’ body also urged the government to amend the Kerala Registration Act that warranted the presence of both buyer and seller for registration and subsequent cancellation of sale agreements.

“The provision is inconvenient and impractical, especially for NRIs who constitute 70 per cent of the buyers in Kerala,” it noted.

It also wanted the government to nullify the amended article 5©of the Kerala Stamp Act that increases the project cost by 16 per cent.

Builders say 60 applications for NOC have been rejected by Fire and Rescue Services on flimsy grounds.